Health
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Government on the slow coal train as world faces collapse
The Government’s draft Strategy on Health and Climate Change is vital to cope with the expected increase in deaths and illness from accelerating climate change. It fails in many respects and should be rewritten to reflect the views of medical experts. Continue reading »
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Environment: Palaszczuk – mining coal is good for your health
The Queensland government is vigorously promoting coal’s social licence. Heat waves are clearly linked to global warming. The war in Ukraine is destroying the environment as well as people. Continue reading »
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No action from Federal Government on Aged Care review
In Canberra, Friday is the traditional day for taking out the trash. It is thus not surprising that Aged Care Minister Anika Wells chose Friday 21 July as the day to release the capability review of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission. Continue reading »
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Prescription co-payments: Time to stop the silent killer
Prescription co-payments are imposed by the Federal Government for subsidised drugs. Australians pay $1.6 billion a year in co-payments. Why do we continue to have financial barriers to accessing these drugs? Continue reading »
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Fact-checking claims on how best to expand access to dental services
The Federal Government has been urged to ignore advice from Private Healthcare Australia (PHA) suggesting that private health insurance funds have an important role in increasing access to dental services. Continue reading »
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Environment: Australia’s energy transition pathways a shambles
Australia’s energy transition pathways are piecemeal and incoherent and inconsistent with achieving the 1.5oC goal. Eliminating fluorocarbons helps the climate and the ozone layer. No future for CCS in the steel industry. Continue reading »
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Curiouser and curiouser – Western Australian Wonderland
It is often said that truth is stranger than fiction and indeed, that is the way I am feeling about the news that the Australian Medical Association (WA Branch), which has a registered training organisation (RTO) that offers a number of short courses and certificate and diploma programs, has recently advertised a Diploma in Nursing. Continue reading »
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Australia scores zero for taking action to protect our health from climate change
Climate change poses major threats to the health of all people globally. Australia has been slow to recognise this. In an assessment of the health-related content of 58 nations’ plans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, Australia scored zero. Continue reading »
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Call them Hospital Departments… and reclaim people’s health
The overall capture of the meaning of “health” by the medical industrial complex and its hospital systems and departments has helped to hide the absence of policy and structures to specifically address the health of the public. It’s time we named our health departments to describe what they actually do – provide illness care -and Continue reading »
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Public education’s ‘elephant in the classroom’
In the debate on the rehabilitation of public schools, there is an unpleasant issue that must not be mentioned. Not by the Unions, not the Government, not the Principals’ organisations and definitely not the private schools. ‘The elephant in the room’ is severe disruptive behaviour. Continue reading »
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Have we given up on obesity?
About 65% of Australian adults and a quarter of children are overweight or obese and about 60% of Australians are trying to lose weight at any one time. Overwhelmingly, the evidence indicates that being obese increases your risk of premature death. And yet policies to reduce obesity have been startlingly unsuccessful. Instead obesity is increasingly Continue reading »
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Calvary Hospital acquisition may open new horizons
How different it might have been if the Catholic Church had kept out of it. If, instead of clergy expressing institutional male outrage, it had been Little Company of Mary Sisters (LCM), in the sensible attire of modern nuns, with SRN, and perhaps even, MBA and MBBS, after their names, saying, “This is our hospital. Continue reading »
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The ageing challenge: navigating the pandemic, technology, and identity politics
Ten years ago, I wrote a book titled In Praise of Ageing. I found there is strong evidence that our attitude to life influences our longevity. But the obstacles we face today make slouching towards Bethlehem seem like a walk in the park. Continue reading »
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Environment: Two years left for a decent chance of keeping warming under 1.5ºC
Scientists establish annual dashboard of indicators of climate change to guide policymakers. Bushfires fatal for humans and invertebrates. Commercial sponsors sought for November’s COP meeting in Dubai. Continue reading »
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Grim Reaper is catching up with the Baby Boomers, waving bills
Having witnessed the last days of my parents and in-laws, I don’t delude myself – as they did – that I’ll be able to avoid being carted off to an old people’s home. Sorry, an aged care residential facility. Continue reading »
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Audit Office slams Morrison government mismanagement of health grants
The latest Audit Office report documenting mismanagement by the Morrison government of a grants program – in this case the Community Health and Hospitals Program – has generated outrage. At a time when the health system is under great pressure, over a billion dollars in grants were allocated on the basis of a dodgy process. Continue reading »
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The real world shatters the myth of personal choice
When a government proposes a policy to improve our diet, it can trigger a gag reflex. Some people feel that deciding what to eat is purely a personal choice, and the ‘nanny state’ should stay out of the way. No-one wants to be lectured, shamed, or forced to eat their greens. Perhaps it goes all Continue reading »
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Be a man, consume till it kills. It will
The World Health Organisation’s No Tobacco Day last month had Australia announcing tough new ways to get smokers to quit. Next door the fag makers were doing the opposite. Continue reading »
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No amount of money will fix the current health system
It has been obvious for many years that our health system needs a radical, evidence based, redesign if it is ever to meet the oft spoken goals of equality and cost-effectiveness, with a focus on prevention and timely availability of care based on need, not financial wellbeing. Continue reading »
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The aged care payment system should be re-designed to support quality
The aged care payment system currently requires providers wishing to make a profit to do so by skimping on care and services. A new payment structure is needed to reverse the incentives, and link higher profits to better care. Continue reading »
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Visiting the doctor in the age of AI
On 8 May, Four Corners (Artificial Intelligence Rising: the new reality of artificial life), portrayed an isolated man’s relationship to a robotic woman and a sex doll, and in another scenario, artificial memories were generated for family members to communicate with the long dead – weird stuff. Continue reading »
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Junk food ads for the chop? Don’t hold your breath
Banning harmful advertising such as junk food, gambling, and alcohol advertising should be a political no-brainer. The evidence of the harm they cause is clear, especially among children and young people, the health and social benefits of such restrictions are real and public support is high and undeniable. And yet – tobacco advertising excepted – Continue reading »
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Re-floating the Titanic won’t save Australian health care
Back in 2008, I had a book contract to describe the obvious failings in Australian health care. It was planned to challenge the national myth that our system was ‘exceptional’, literally ‘best in the world’. I didn’t persist as Prime Minister Rudd was promising sweeping national reforms and there was genuine community enthusiasm for a Continue reading »
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A Labor budget to address workforce shortages in aged care
A 15% pay rise forms the centrepiece of Labor’s 2023 aged care budget. It is one of three significant aged care reforms that Labor has introduced since coming to office – a new funding model, mandated minimum staffing and now a pay rise for aged care workers. It’s a great start. But there is much Continue reading »
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Calvary hospital unresponsive? Yes, Chief Minister
Canberra’s Calvary Hospital is to be compulsorily acquired by the ACT Government, charged by Chief Minister Andrew Barr with being, amongst other things, unresponsive. Continue reading »
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Budget focus on primary health care; a missed opportunity for ageing Australia
We need a radical rethink of the way we structure a 100-year life. Continue reading »
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Intriguing tale of China’s speedy pandemic recovery
No jurisdiction has managed a flawless COVID response, says Richard Cullen. But China, despite its imperfect COVID management experience, did better than any other major jurisdiction and, in fact, displayed many examples of early-best-practice unseen elsewhere. Exasperatingly, the West found, yet again, that it there is much it can learn from China – and then, Continue reading »
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Health budget has big changes – reviving our worn-out Medicare fee-for-service system and boosting bulk billing
There were four major changes for health care in the 2023-24 budget: prioritising primary care, funding to strengthen Medicare, cheaper access to common medicines, and new funding to keep the digital health system going. Many of these changes were foreshadowed in recent weeks. Continue reading »
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Treatment and support services for gambling harm
For someone who is experiencing gambling harm, either due to their own gambling or someone else’s gambling, finding a quality service is often difficult. Continue reading »
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Will the Albanese Government revive the values that underpinned Medicare?
Or will it fiddle around the edges like the Rudd/Gillard Governments? Continue reading »