Articles
Bionics: The Future of Healthcare
You may have heard that robots are the future of healthcare, but do you know about bionics (or where biology and electrical engineering meet)? Australia is doing some exciting work in medical bionics and while some of the applications are still in development, others are in clinical trials - and others are already in the market place. [ + ]
New Epilepsy Treatment for Melbourne's Brain Hub
Australians suffering from focal epilepsy will soon have access to a new treatment, thanks to Melbourne’s Swinburne University. The Magnetoencephalography scanner or MEG located at the university’s Brain Imaging Centre is the only one of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, and offers patients a non-invasive method for pinpointing the centre of seizure activity in the brain. [ + ]
UPDATE: Dental Infection Control Breaches Exposes 10,000+ Patients to HIV and Hepatitis
A chain of Sydney dental practices has been found in breach of infection control practices including cleaning and sterilisation. The Gentle Dentist clinics in Campsie and Sussex Street in Sydney’s CBD; Surry Hills and Bondi Junction are listed with Aids Council of New South Wales (ACON) as a provider of "HIV-friendly" bulk-billed dental work. [ + ]
Indigenous Eye Health On Track and Online
In a report published by the Medical Journal of Australia, support for Indigenous eye care is improving according to 42 recommendations made in a roadmap aiming to close the gap in health services. University of Melbourne researchers Dr Marian Abouzeid, Mitchell Anjou and Professor Hugh Taylor said that progress has been made to increase services, improve efficiencies and support better Indigenous patient engagement with the eye care system. [ + ]
Antibiotic Resistance and Australia's New Superbug
At current UK government estimates, we could see up to 10 million deaths per year by 2050 from antibiotic-resistant bacteria, taking us back to the days when people died of simple infections. [ + ]
Melanoma Immunotherapy gains PBS Support
Melanoma drug Keytruda (pembrolizumab) will be available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits scheme from September this year, according to an announcement from the Commonwealth Government over the weekend. [ + ]
Egg-Freezing Not the Answer for Young Women's Fertility Insurance
Women have been encouraged to freeze their eggs (or cryptopreservation) for a variety of reasons for some time now: as a pre-cursor to fertility-ending treatments, for assistance during long and drawn out fertility treatments, and even for social reasons centred around family planning. [ + ]
Organs on a Microchip
US scientists have developed a microchip that acts as a human organ, lined with human cells and with the ability to move air, nutrients, blood and infection-causing bacteria through its tubes. [ + ]
Planning for Mental Illness in Old Age
Australians suffering from mental illness are being urged to plan for their journey into old age by national mental health charity SANE Australia [ + ]
Towards Self-Care in Healthcare
Pharmacies across Australia have been working on the Health Destination Pharmacy model, an initiative the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia says promoted a ‘stronger focus on patient self-care, increased delivery of evidence-based professional services (particularly focusing on assisting patients with minor ailments), leading to greater patient loyalty and increased sales.’ [ + ]
Hospital Spending in Australia
Recurrent hospital expenditure in Australia for public and private hospitals combined topped $55 billion in 2013–14, according to a report released today by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). [ + ]
A Patient Perspective of Diagnostic Imaging: The Right to Access
Diagnostic imaging has changed the face of medicine in the field of diagnosis and treatment. What began with the humble X-Ray has expanded to include modalities such as Ultrasound, Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and most recently nuclear medicine examinations such as the Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan. Millions of Australian patients access diagnostic imaging services each year for a whole myriad conditions, ranging from a broken bone to cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring. It is therefore no surprise that diagnostic imaging is at the forefront of early diagnosis and early treatment of many conditions which if left undetected would not be treatable. [ + ]
Australia and US team up to Tackle MERS
Associate Professor Senanayake, an infectious disease specialist at the Australian National University, said MERS-CoV posed a similar threat to Ebola. [ + ]