The Australian Mental Health System Needs a Rethink - New Report Released
11 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithA new report released today, Crossroads - Rethinking the Australian Mental Health System, shows an additional cost to the taxpayer of $9b if the structure and emphasis of the current system is maintained.
Aged Care Approvals Round Expands Home Care Packages Program
10 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithAged and Community Services Australia (ACSA) has welcomed the announcement by the Assistant Minister for Social Services, Senator Mitch Fifield, that the 2014 Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR) will expand the Home Care Packages program.
TGA Project Facilitates Health Professionals Reporting Adverse Events
07 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithThe Therapeutic Goods Administration is inviting medical software vendors to participate in a pilot project to facilitate reporting adverse events by health professionals. The project is to develop a TGA web service to assist software vendors who wish include access to reporting adverse events for health professionals in medical software. Following this pilot project, which is expected to run until April 2014, a TGA web service will be available to software vendors at no cost. Any company providing software to health professionals - such as general practitioners, hospital and community pharmacists, specialists and nurses - who submit reports of adverse events to medicines is welcome to participate. The web service will be compatible with both mobile and desktop devices. Involvement in the pilot will require vendors to develop a reporting interface within their own software program and to test transmission of reports using the web service from their software to the TGA in XML format. Reports of adverse events from health professionals are essential to the TGA’s safety monitoring activities. Feedback to the TGA indicates that the time required to report is a significant barrier to reporting by health professionals. Providing an adverse event reporting mechanism in medical software, particularly one that allows reports to be automatically populated from clinical record data, has been suggested as a way of reducing the time required to find, complete and send reporting forms. Development of the adverse event report web service is one of a number of projects that the TGA is currently undertaking to encourage adverse event reporting by health professionals and consumers by:
Researchers Identify Steps to Prevent Liver Failure Caused by Paracetamol
07 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithUniversity of Adelaide researchers have identified a key step for the future prevention of liver failure resulting from taking too much of the everyday painkiller paracetamol.
Possible Risks Associated with Medical Staff Using Mobile Digital Technologies
07 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithPossible risks associated with medical staff using mobile digital technologies for professional purposes have been raised in a leading study at Monash University.
New Guidelines for Prescribing and Treating Acne Patients Now Available
07 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithA University of Queensland researcher has developed new guidelines for psychiatrists and dermatologists prescribing and treating acne with a drug linked with suicide and depression.
Professor Peter Shergold to Chair Aged Care Sector Committee
06 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithProfessor Peter Shergold AC will chair the Aged Care Sector Committee, tasked with building the foundation for a constructive and lasting partnership between the Australian Government and the aged care sector.
Dentist's Day Highlights The Field of Epigenetics as it Relates to Oral Health
06 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithIn a new paper published in the Australian Dental Journal, researchers from the University of Adelaide's School of Dentistry have written about the current and future use of the field of epigenetics as it relates to oral health.
Research Links Brain Development and Adolescent Depression
04 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithA new study led by the University of Melbourne and Orygen Youth Health Research Centre is the first to discover that the brain develops differently in adolescents who experience depression.
Entry now Open for National Medicinewise Awards
04 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithEntries are now open for the National Medicinewise Awards, which will be presented at the 2014 National Medicines Symposium to be held in Brisbane in May.
Researchers Pave the Way for Personalised Treatments for Bacterial Diseases
03 March, 2014 by Petrina SmithResearchers have developed a new method for rapidly measuring the level of antibiotic molecules in the blood and how they work against bacteria, paving the way for personalised treatments for bacterial diseases.
Griffith Professor's Work on how Building Design Improves Health Earns a Fulbright Scholarship
26 February, 2014 by Petrina SmithHow building design improves health and healing after injury or illness is the focus of a study by Associate Professor Heidi Muenchberger, a recently announced recipient of the 2014 Australian-American Fulbright Commission Scholarships.
New Field in Medicine Could Unlock the Role of Interferons in Childhood Asthma
25 February, 2014 by Petrina SmithA new and emerging field in medicine – which involves the study of a group of proteins known as Interferons – could help unlock therapies for a range of diseases, according to a researcher who has recently won a grant to study the role of Interferons in childhood asthma.
Omega 3 and Antidepressants Could Help Avoid Dementia and Depression
25 February, 2014 by Petrina SmithOmega-3 supplements and the antidepressant sertraline are being considered in a study to reduce depressive symptoms and cognitive decline in older people, in a bid to prevent the onset of dementia and depression in later life.
ANMF Calls For Health Minister to Help Combat Australia's Nursing Crisis
24 February, 2014 by Petrina SmithThe ANMF is calling on Federal Health Minister Peter Dutton to work with stakeholders to combat Australia's nursing crisis, following the release of a new report on health issues suffered by Australia's ageing nursing workforce.
