Health
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FRAN BAUM and TOBY FREEMAN. Time for the reform of primary health care in Australia: a ten-point plan (Croakey, 12.09.18)
12 September)marks 40 years since the World Health Organization member countries gathered for the International Conference on Primary Health Care in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and signed off on the declaration of Alma-Ata. Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Beyond the political rhetoric,hard hats and akubras what do our political ‘leaders’ really believe.
Power does reveal substance. It tells us quite quickly about the values that drive political parties and political leaders. Scare tactics are always a sure sign that the values and policy cupboard is bare. Continue reading »
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KIM OATES. Viewpoint: “Always say something positive about the child” (Berry Brazelton 1918-2018)
Over 40 years ago, I was fortunate to do some of my paediatric training with Berry Brazelton. He wasn’t famous then, but there was something about him that set him apart from the purely organic focus of most of the senior staff at Boston Children’s Hospital. He was interested in babies as individuals with their Continue reading »
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MARK DANTA, CHUN MA, RICHARD DAY, DAVID MA. Dealing with the spiraling price of medicines: how “low” can it go?
New medications are increasingly expensive. In Australia, where the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) covers the vast majority of prescription medications, the spiraling cost of medicines has a significant impact on the sustainability of our health system. In countries where patients are required to contribute substantially to the medicine cost, high prices can negatively influence their Continue reading »
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IAN WEBSTER: Preventing suicide
The 10th September is recognised as World Suicide Prevention Day. “The burden of suicide does not weigh solely on the health sector; it has multiple impacts on many sectors and on society as a whole. Thus, to start a successful journey towards the prevention of suicide, countries should employ a multisectoral approach that addresses suicide Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. Why dental care was excluded from Medicare and why it should now be included
In 1974, the Whitlam Government decided to exclude dental care from Medicare for two reasons. The first was cost. The second was political in that Gough Whitlam felt that combatting the doctors would be hard enough without having to combat dentists as well. Forty-four years later, with Australia much richer and the proven success of Continue reading »
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ALESSANDRO DEMAIO. An evidence-based five-point plan to tackle child obesity in Australia.
Few challenges are a greater threat to the health of Australians than obesity. Weight gain has now become the norm—the biological and social path of least resistance. Within a decade and without significant government intervention, more Australians are expected to be obese than normal weight. Opportunities to stem the tide of obesity do exist – Continue reading »
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NEAL BLEWETT. Establishing, defending and improving Medicare.
Neal Blewett AC delivered the Hayden Oration at Ipswich on 15 August 2018. Neal Blewett as Minister for Health from 1983 under the Hawke government, and later Minister for Community Services and Health, implemented the Medicare universal health scheme, disability services, campaigns to reduce tobacco and alcohol abuse, and a national strategy to combat AIDS/HIV. Continue reading »
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STEPHEN DUCKETT. A hospital win-win: improving care and saving money.
Every day we hear stories about innovation in health care – new drugs, new machines and new tests that will help us live longer. We have got used to thinking that any improvements in health care will come at a price – often a big one, given the years of development and testing needed to Continue reading »
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LESLEY RUSSELL. The dental divide – and the decay of public dental services (ABC News, 21.08.18)
The noisy public debate about patients’ out-of-pocket costs and their consequences reaches a crescendo when it comes to oral health and dental care. Continue reading »
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LESLEY BARCLAY, HANNAH DAHLEN, NIGEL LEE. Australia is breaking records for intervention in childbirth, and the costs are many.
Variation in rates of obstetric intervention, including caesarean section, were recently cited by the Grattan Institute’s Dr Stephen Duckett when suggesting that a new Code of Conduct for doctors should include a focus on over-intervention. In the article below, Emeritus Professor Lesley Barclay AO, Professor Hannah Dahlen and Dr Nigel Lee argue that concerted efforts Continue reading »
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JOHN MENADUE. The failure of the National Party on rural poverty and rural health. Repost from 23 February 2018
Country electorates have the most disadvantaged people, the poorest health and inferior health services. But the National Party does very little about it. Does it care? The National Party record on climate change,NBN and irrigation is appalling.I have written previously on these subjects Today I refer to its failure to address rural poverty and poor rural Continue reading »
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ALEX WODAK. Drug Reform Series- Portugal’s successful drug law reform in 2001
Treating personal drug use as an administrative offence along the lines of a parking violation has worked well for Portugal. It has not only been a public health and public policy success but also a political one. Continue reading »
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CHRIS PUPLICK. Drug Reform series -The evidence for drug policy reform is clear.
Australia’s drug policy regime is ruining people’s lives and causing more misery and cost than it saves. A new approach is needed, one that is evidence based and recognises the personal, social and economic benefits of policies other than mere prohibition and law enforcement. With good leadership and open-minded public debate, we can do better. Continue reading »
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PETER BAUME. Drug Reform series- Drug policy: None so blind
Current drug policy is based on the unrealistic belief that we can stamp out possession and use of illicit drugs, much like prohibition of alcohol in 1920s America. It also fails to account for the harm caused by our strictly punitive policy approach. Continue reading »
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TONY TRIMINGHAM. Drug Reform Series-Don’t punish drug users. Help them instead.
This is mostly a personal story, about my son Damien, who died from heroin use in 1997, at the age of 23. I feel sure that his death could have been avoided if we had at the time an approach to drug use that was based on harm prevention rather than punishment. Continue reading »
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HELEN TYRRELL. Drug Reform series-Grasping the nettle: Prisons, drug use and the law
Every day people are imprisoned for drug-related crimes in line with ‘tough on drugs’ policies. It’s time to face the futility and unsustainability of this approach to drug use. Continue reading »
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KEITH HAMBURGER. Drug Reform series – punishment alone is not the answer.
Australian prisons are severely overcrowded. Much crime is drug related. Some 75% of prisoners have a substance abuse problem. The majority of prisoners are not rehabilitated by their prison experience as evidenced by high recidivism rates, particularly for First Nation people. A holistic, whole of community response is required founded in restorative justice and justice Continue reading »
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GINO VUMBACA. Drug Reform series-At last, a government sanctioned pill testing program
We are finally seeing in Australia the first signs of a recognition by government of the important public health benefits of sanctioned pill testing programs. Law enforcement alone will never overcome the problems that can arise from drug use. Much like needle and syringe programs, pill testing is a real-world response which is evidence based Continue reading »
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IAN WEBSTER. Drug Reform Series- Drug policy and justice
In the final analysis, drug policy based on prohibition fails to meet the test of fairness and justice in the lives of those most directly affected. Continue reading »
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MICHAEL HART. Drug Reform Series – Drub Policy-an addiction to failure
A careful assessment of our policy towards currently illegal drugs and our struggle with the trade in these drugs brings forth a somber but frank conclusion about the war on drugs. It should stop. Continue reading »
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RALPH SECCOMBE. Drug Reform series-Production of illicit drugs – the balloon effect
Policy on illicit drugs should be developed on the basis that supply can never be cut off. Production is like a balloon: squeeze it in one place, but it will only bulge out elsewhere. This applies all the way to the consumer. There is no pricking this balloon under the present prohibition regime. While we Continue reading »
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ALEX WODAK. Drug Reform Series -Drug policy: prohibition and punishment is just not effective
The failure and futility of drug prohibition has been well accepted among political elites in Australia for a long time. It is time we debated the merits of regulation, combined with targeted health and social intervention, rather than blunt prohibition and punishment. Such an approach is likely to be more effective, and fair. Continue reading »
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BILL BUSH. Drug Reform series- High drug incarceration – harms manifest and benefits hard to perceive
At 160 prisoners per 100,000 of population, Australia’s prison rate in 2016 was more than 3 times the rate of the 1940s and 1950s. The steep increase correlates with an increasingly repressive drug policy and the closure of mental health institutions. Continue reading »
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MICK PALMER. Drug Reform series-The Blind Eye of History: from policing alcohol prohibition to policing drug prohibition
Australia has some unhappy laws which result in people using illicit drugs being severely punished. When thinking about this, one should recall laws used half a century ago to criminalise Aboriginal people who drank alcohol. Continue reading »
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MARION McCONNELL. Drug Reform series-The long road to drug law reform
“What should I tell people about your son’s death”, asked our Minister. He was there to discuss arrangements for our son’s funeral. In my overwhelming grief it hadn’t crossed my mind, but now it immediately struck me. Our son had died from a heroin overdose. He is now tainted with shame. We, his mum and Continue reading »
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GEOFF GALLOP. Drug Reform series-The politics of drug decriminalisation
Policies around drug decriminalisation should be evidence based, recognise the need for a nuanced rather than fundamentalist approach and take account of the advances made in the field of harm reduction, not just law enforcement. Reform measures should be premised on a mix of rights, health and community safety principles and reflect the views of Continue reading »
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ANN SYMONDS. Drug Reform series -The politics of social change
The War on Drugs has failed. Not only has it failed to stem the use of illicit drugs but it has also given rise to a host of other issues, including increased crime and corruption and a higher rate of disease and death from the use of such drugs. Reform is long overdue, including a Continue reading »
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TIM WOODRUFF. My Health Record: Major Concerns Continue Despite Backdown By Health Minister.
The Federal Government has finally realised that there are major problems with its implementation of the My Health Record. Continue reading »
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PETER DAY. No womb in the Inn.
Too often the issue of abortion is couched in terms of women’s rights only – “It’s my body. It’s my choice – back off!” Continue reading »