Changes to restrictions on medicines for COPD and asthma Dr Kerry Hancock, Chair of the RACGP’s Respiratory Medicine Specific Interests network, examines the reasons behind recent changes to the PBS and what they mean for GPs and patients.
Calls for increased surveillance and vaccinations after polio outbreak in PNG Eighteen years after Papua New Guinea was declared polio-free, the virus has returned to Australia’s closest neighbour.
Federal law designed to protect against medicine shortages Medicine companies will have to report shortages of important medicines as soon as they occur under new legislation passed by the Federal Government.
DVA initiatives to improve veterans’ access to healthcare The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has introduced a number of changes to better assist veterans in accessing the care they need for body and mind.
DoH cautions pilgrims and doctors to be aware of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome The Department of Health has issued a preventive health warning for people travelling to the Middle East, and for the doctors who will treat them.
Greg Hunt proposes changes to reporting scheme to help address medicine shortages The Federal Health Minister wants to make the reporting scheme mandatory rather than voluntary, with legal definitions of medicine shortage and penalties for non-compliance.
The RACGP’s Green Book: Putting prevention into practice The new third edition of the RACGP’s Putting prevention into practice: Guidelines for the implementation of prevention in the general practice setting is now available, providing GPs and practice teams with a framework for implementing preventive medicine.
June issue of Australian Journal of General Practice now available The latest issue of the Australian Journal of General Practice, the RACGP’s peer-reviewed scholarly journal, is now available online.
When is the treatment worse than the disease? New research shows GPs can help patients avoid opioids for chronic non-cancer pain. Dr Hester Wilson, Chair of the RACGP’s Specific Interests Addiction Medicine network, considers how.
Genetics and ethics: Do doctors have a duty of care to a patient’s relatives? Dr Chris Hogan writes for newsGP about the ethics of informing a patient’s family members of a heritable disease.