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A  lack of experienced staff, reduced availability of testing and increased waiting times for treatment of urgent cases has been blamed for the results of a study in BMJ indicating patients admitted to hospital on a weekend have a higher risk of death than those admitted during the week. [ + ]

Girls suffering from a rare form of epilepsy due to a mutation in the X-chromosome will soon have access to their first chance at treatment, thanks to University of Adelaide researchers and Marinus Pharmaceuticals who are about to commence clinical trials. [ + ]

Australia’s largest private health insurer Medibank Private has ended its contract with ACT private hospital group Calvary Health Care following months of negotiation. [ + ]

The numbers of nurses working in rural and remote settings will increase as part of a partnership between the Federal Government and Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA). [ + ]

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A guest post from The Conversation, this is a touching and heartfelt story from the patient's bedside. [ + ]

In regional South Australia, populations have been identified has being at risk of potentially reaching “unacceptably high rates” of diabetes, with 30,000 in the Country South SA Medicare Local (CSSAML) area cited as currently living with type 2 diabetes, either diagnosed or undiagnosed. [ + ]

As the aging population sets to increase and the number of people suffering from chronic disease escalates, the importance of early detection and diagnosis of eye conditions is of uttermost importance. This month we are using the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Opthalmologists (RANZCO) Eye Foundation's JulEYE as a month to advocate for eye health and the community of eye health professionals. We have invited Allanah Crameri and Vivan Law who are specialist Orthoptists with Orthoptics Australia to share the top 5 eye conditions people commonly suffer from and some handy tips on what to look out for. [ + ]

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Today The Guardian Australia published a piece reporting on Immigration Minister Peter Dutton’s new legislation and the gag order it, in effect, places on the terrible conditions medical staff are witness to in Australia’s detention centres. This legislation is the Border Force Act and comes into effect from tomorrow 1 July. [ + ]

This year’s flu season is being hyped to be the worst yet, according to numerous reports distributed throughout medical and public media. [ + ]

The NPS MedicineWise short film competition #SaveTheScript run in conjunction with Tropfest was held in Sydney last night, with the winners announced. Participants were briefed to make a 45-second film about the threat of antibiotic resistance, and the winning film by OneWay Pictures entitled The Pick Up is an amusing and sexy take on a serious situation. [ + ]

Indexation and the Patient Gap The freeze on diagnostic imaging Medicare rebates has had a significant impact on the affordability of diagnostic imaging for patients. Currently in its 17th year, the freeze on indexation has resulted in the real value of diagnostic imaging Medicare rebates falling, in some cases, by almost 50 per cent. This has resulted in patients paying consistently higher gaps each year, making diagnostic imaging service costs increasingly prohibitive.  Figure 4 reveals the rise in patient gaps for each modality, with the average patient gap rising by over 50% in the last six years. [ + ]

Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) has been leading the charge on the current updates to the Aged Care changes that will take effect from 1 July 2015. Providers are required to be registered through the My Aged Care portal for receiving and managing service referrals. [ + ]