A medical researcher from QUT is completing her PhD on patient-generated health data, where patients track and collect data on their own health using wearable technology, smartphone apps and selfies. [ + ]

It’s Time to Embrace Life’s Uncertainty The more we learn about the problem of too much medicine and what’s driving it, the harder it seems to imagine effective solutions. Winding back unnecessary tests and treatments will require a raft of reforms across medical research, education and regulation. [ + ]

It is ethically and legally important to respect patient’s autonomy and dignity and to always act in their best interests and avoid doing harm, writes Professor William Silvester. [ + ]

We have asked leadership and coaching consultant Stacey Ashley to provide some practical workplace skills in the area of people management. In this article Stacey takes us through the art of coaching our peers, whether in a formal or informal coaching or mentoring relationship. [ + ]

The low-FODMAP diet was developed in Australia by Monash University for those suffering from medically-diagnosed Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Functional Gastro-Intestinal Disorder (FGID). While it is increasingly being prescribed by dieticians and GPs as lifestyle treatment for these conditions, a review of the available data has been published in Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (dtb) showing very little evidence that the diet’s recommendation of avoiding dietary carbohydrate does actually control symptoms. [ + ]

Ute Vollmer-Conna, UNSW Australia and Gordon Parker, UNSW Australia [ + ]

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Royal Melbourne Hospital has adopted the Hardcat software in its overhaul of an ageing asset management system, leading to reduced equipment downtime and improved administrative processes (such as integration of the never-ending trail of paperwork). [ + ]

Intracellular microlasers - or microscopic lasers introduced into the interior of live cells - could perhaps be used to track cancer cells as they move throughout the body. At least, that’s the hope thanks to a study published in Nature Photonics, which described the study of lasers tracking white blood cells through animals’ bodies for a number of days. [ + ]

But what are the risks of doing nothing?

This week we are attending the Health Informatics Society of Australia's (HISA) annual conference in Brisbane, HIC2015. [ + ]

Luigi Palombi, Murdoch University [ + ]

Do you know someone who is an advocate for the promotion of quality and safety in healthcare in Australia? Nominations for the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards 2015 ACHS Medal are now open. [ + ]

Clinical trials will soon take place in Brisbane to test whether a drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis could be useful in treating asthma. This comes after scientists at QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute found that a gene previously thought to have an anti-inflammatory effect, or no immune effect at all, is actually more likely to increase inflammation in people with asthma and allergies. [ + ]

After more than two months from its first reported case, South Korea is ready to declare itself safe from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). [ + ]