If the Abbott Government wishes to get more bang for the buck out of health spending, there are better options than slapping a $7 co-payment on patients, the Consumers Health Forum says. [ + ]

Aged Care Accreditation Standards are demanding increasing levels of excellence and facilities are coming under ever increasing scrutiny around the provision of nutrition and hydration. Food Service Managers are struggling with tighter budgets and needing to do more with less. Anne Schneyder asks where are the Nutrition and Menu Planning Standards for aged care facilities? [ + ]

[caption id="attachment_8246" align="alignright" width="133"] Professor Warwick Anderson[/caption] Professor Warwick Anderson has announced  he is resigning as CEO of the NHMRC with effect from the end of March 2015 before commencing an appointment as Secretary-General of the Human Frontier Science Program, beginning mid 2015. CEO of the NHMRC since 2006, Professor Anderson has presided over a period of very significant growth in the NHMRC.  His new appointment will take him from Canberra to Strasbourg, France, official seat of the European Parliament. [ + ]

With the release of the World Health Organization’s Antimicrobial Resistance Global Report on Surveillance, Cathryn Murphy believes it opens the way to build infection control capacity through novel approaches, including exploring new partnerships with medical industry. [ + ]

According to the Victorian Audit of Surgical Mortality (VASM)  sixth annual report,  trends relating to clinical risk management show overall improvements in patient surgical care. [ + ]

To successfully deliver the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), there needs to be improved collaboration across government and services, according to a  new report by the University of Sydney and the Young People In Nursing Homes National Alliance. [ + ]

Too many Australians are suffering and dying from chronic heart failure due to a disjointed national approach to managing the debilitating condition, according to the Heart Foundation. [ + ]

Discussion of health and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia tends to focus on closing the gap in on the social and health disadvantages – the comparatively poor life expectancy and the disproportionately high burden of chronic illness such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases. [ + ]

Eminent doctor and leader in the medical profession, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, will be the new Chairperson of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. [ + ]

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has called for submissions from the Australian public on evidence regarding the health effects of water fluoridation. [ + ]

The Pharmacy Practitioner Development Committee (PPDC) is commencing a review of the Australian pharmacy profession’s competency standards. [ + ]

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A Hepatitis Report Card released for World Hepatitis Day today shows 250,000 Australians with untreated hepatitis B or C are aged over 40 years and have reached the critical age-point where liver scarring accelerates and the risk of cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure dramatically increases. [ + ]

Dr Len Notaras has recently been appointed the Chief Executive Officer for the Northern Territory Department of Health. His new position has overarching responsibility for the National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre (NCCTRC) of which he was recently Executive Director. [ + ]

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have shown new media technologies such as smart phone apps may be an effective means of improving health outcomes for new mothers and their babies. [ + ]