Ethics and Choosing Wisely

5.2.1 Ensuring that the services you provide are necessary and likely to benefit the patient. 5.2.2 Upholding the patient’s right to gain access to the necessary level of healthcare and, whenever possible, helping them to do so. 5.2.3 Supporting the transparent and equitable allocation of healthcare resources. 5.2.4 Understanding that your use of resources can affect the access other patients have to healthcare resources.

Reducing the Risk of Lynch Syndrome

A paper published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association led by researchers from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, reveals that women with one child are 60% less likely to develop uterine cancer, compared with women with no children, and even lower for women with more than one child.

Not all Alcohol-Based Hand Rubs are Equal

Weekend Operations have Worse Outcomes

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.

Marine Biology offers Vaccine and Drug Treatments

The CSIRO believes it has found the answer to the challenge of vaccine transportation in seashells.

Treatment Discovered for Girls-Only Epilepsy Condition

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.

Gene Therapy Success for Cystic Fibrosis Lung Function

Research from the UK has shown the improvement of lung function of Cystic Fibrosis patients through the use of gene therapy in a two year trial, according to The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

Happiness and the Art of Care and Conversation on the Cancer Ward

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

Boost to Mental Health Facilities for WA Mining Communities

The Western Australian government has announced funding for further support of the spiraling mental health problems affecting its mining workers in plans to expand the state’s subacute mental health beds to a total of 60 by 2017.

Regional South Australia Receives Diabetes Care Framework

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.

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.

Focus on JulEYE and Top 5 Eye Conditions

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.

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.

Detention Centre Medical Workers to be Jailed for Speaking Out

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.

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.