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Local news

WEEK COMMENCING 07 NOVEMBER 2009

No-pay plan for medical mistakes

13 November 13, 2009: Hospitals and doctors will not get paid if they make big mistakes, under a plan being prepared by health insurers for consideration by the Federal Government. Health Minister Nicola Roxon has expressed interest in the idea, though she said she was wary of making insurers both ''payers and police''.

Warning of risks in national GP register

13 November 2009: Doctors have criticised a NSW law that paves the way for national registration, saying its mandatory ''dob-in-a-doctor'' requirement may deter doctors from getting help for drug and alcohol abuse.

AMA now satisfied with whistleblower protection

12 November 2009: The president of the Northern Territory branch of the Australian Medical Association says he is satisfied that government employees who contribute to an inquiry into the child protection system will be fully protected from prosecution.

Pathway open to better health

12 November 2009: Aboriginal people will be given control over their health and well being at the end of a new milestone framework. The Pathways to Community Control was launched yesterday. The framework could take at least four years to be completed.

Rising costs threatening health – Roxon

12 November 2009: Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon has emphasised the need for major reforms because of massive rises in the cost of health care.

Australian College of Midwives

9 November 2009: Midwives reject doctors' veto over their ability to enter private practice and provide care to women.

Health survey results mixed

11 November 11, 2009: Only about half of NSW emergency patients would recommend the hospital they had attended this year and three-quarters felt they had to wait too long to see a doctor, according to the Health Department's annual patient satisfaction survey.

Aboriginal health needs $3b: AMA

11 November 11, 2009: Doctors have called for more than $3 billion to be injected into Aboriginal health services over five years to close the life expectancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people. The call follows the release of statistics showing Aboriginal men can expect to die 11.5 years earlier than non-indigenous men.

Damning report card on Indigenous male health: AMA

10 November 2009: It's cause and effect. For Indigenous men poor health is intimately bound up with low status, self esteem and sense of purpose. That's the verdict of the Australian Medical Association in a report card released today on Indigenous male health.

Roxon prepares to take on private health funds

11 November 2009: The Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, is heading for a showdown with health insurance funds over premium rises early next year.

Indigenous life expectancy gap reduced by 5.5 years: AMA

10 November 2009: A loss of status and self-esteem is both a cause and an effect of the poor health outcomes of Aboriginal men, the Australian Medical Association says.

Report highlights continuing Indigenous health gap

10 November 2009: A new annual report says there are still significant life expectancy gaps between Aboriginal people and the rest of the community that are not properly being addressed.

Regulation works: a postcard from France

10 November 2009: All eyes may be on the US just now when it comes to discussions about health care reform, but perhaps it’s worth looking to the French as well.

Giddings: Tackling healthcare associated infections

10 November 2009: Health Minister Lara Giddings today released the latest data on healthcare associated infections (HAIs) in Tasmania and detailed a new strategy to help reduce them in future.

Indigenous health report set for release

10 November 2009: The Australian Medical Association is expected to call for a massive injection of funding to Aboriginal health services as a way of trying to close the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

$100m needed to fix ambulance problems: St John

10 November 2009: A funding injection of $1 million for WA's ambulance service will not be enough to fix problems identified by an inquiry into the deaths of four patients, its CEO says.

Mukesh Haikerwal: Enhancing healthcare

10 November 2009: To ensure a sustainable future Australia’s governments have promoted healthcare reform. Integral to this is e-health - for the system, the individuals who will use it and those who work within it.

Rebate plan is short of vision

9 November 2009: The widening gap of the provision of vital services like cataract eye surgery between regional and metropolitan Australia is easily illustrated by the Federal Minister for Health Nicola Roxon’s decision to introduce a new Medicare rebate 45 per cent less than the previous amount.

Women rally at Rudd’s office

9 November 2009: Hundreds of women and children will rally outside Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s Morningside office today to protest against maternity services reforms.

Curbed midwives push to break free

November 9, 2009: Midwives' ability to work independently – promised by the federal Health Minister, Nicola Roxon – would depend on endorsement by individual doctors under an amendment to proposed legislation that has infuriated women's groups.

Emergency department turf war

8 November 2009: A radical attempt by chiropractors to treat patients in hospital emergency departments faces fierce opposition from doctors.

Mum's the word on home births

8 November 8, 2009: More than 400 women and children are expected to protest outside Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Brisbane office tomorrow over proposed changes to home-birth legislation.

Roxon on new nursing laws

6 November 6, 2009: Health Minister Nicola Roxon denies the federal government watered down draft laws to give nurses more power because of pressure from doctors.

Collaborative arrangements to have central role in new nurse practitioner and midwife legislation, Australia

6 November 2009: RACGP welcomes news that the Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon MP, has support the introduction of collaborative arrangements between nurse practitioners, midwives and medical practitioners.

Roxon tells divisions: "your time has come"

6 November 2009: Health minister Nicola Roxon gave strong backing today to GP divisions and their plans to become regional providers of primary health care services.

Roxon: 2009 Australian General Practice Network Forum

6 November 2009: Thank you for that welcome and having me here this morning. I’m starting to be a regular guest here, which is fine by me! It is hard to believe this is now my third AGPN forum.  Two years ago I attended your conference and gave a clear message that the Rudd Government recognised the importance of Primary care in the health system, and reaffirmed our commitment to the development of Australia’s first National Primary Care Strategy.

Mater Health Services, Brisbane

About 70 people attended a health consultation with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Minister for Health and Ageing Nicola Roxon at Mater Health Services in Brisbane on Thursday 5 November.

Medicine charges to rise after subsidies move

7 November 2009: Patients could pay more for the most common medicines after the Rudd Government moved to stop drug companies cashing-in on taxpayer subsidies. "High-volume" medicines which treat depression, osteoporosis and a common bone disease are at the centre of a four-year $42 million savings measure that has angered the pharmaceutical industry.

No to independent nurses

6 November 2009: Nicola Roxon says legislation to extend the roles of nurse practitioners and midwives has been amended to make more explicit the requirement that they work only in collaboration with medical practitioners, a move welcomed by the AMA. (Comment)

Health fund to cover cataract cut

6 November 2009: Australia's largest not-for-profit health insurer has announced it will increase benefits for cataract surgery after the Rudd Government last week slashed the Medicare rebate by 45 per cent.

Elliott: Review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument – Release of Terms of Reference

6 November 2009: Minister for Ageing, Justine Elliot, today released the terms of reference for the Government’s review of the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI). Minister Elliot said: “The Aged Care Funding Instrument was the biggest change in the method of funding aged care in more than a decade. It introduced a more sustainable funding instrument for residential aged care providers, increasing funding for those residents with the greatest care needs”.

Snowdon to shave off signature mo for charity

6 November 2009: Federal Minister for Rural and Regional Health, Warren Snowdon says he’s willing to shave off his trademark moustache in the name of men’s health.

Drawing the line on the beauty industry

5 November 05, 2009 12:01am: Unrealistic body images, aesthetic ideals and perceived norms have long been an issue in shaping the minds of Australia's youth - and subsequently their attitudes towards themselves.

Calvary ownership arrangements clarified

4 November /2009: ACT Minister for Health, Katy Gallagher MLA, today released advice provided by the ACT Government Solicitor to respond to community feedback over the legal ownership of Calvary Public Hospital. "The community consultation process in relation to the proposed purchase of Calvary Hospital has identified some concerns in the community about the Government's proposal to buy the hospital from the Little Company of Mary Health Care (LCMHC)," Ms Gallagher said.

Desperate medical students work for free

4 November 2009 9:01pm AEDT: Deans of Australia's medical schools say there are not enough doctors and training plans to deal with a flood of graduates, forcing some overseas students to offer to do their training for free.

International news

SWEDEN: New explanation for nature's hardiest life form

12 November 2009: Got food poisoning? The cause might be bacterial spores, en extremely hardy survival form of bacteria, a nightmare for health care and the food industry and an enigma for scientists. Spore-forming bacteria, present almost everywhere in our environment, can also cause serious infectious diseases, such as tetanus, anthrax, and botulism. Now researchers from Lund University and the U.S. have made a breakthrough in our understanding of the molecular characteristics of spores that in the long term may lead to new methods for sterilizing food and medical equipment. The findings are published in the latest issue of the American scientific journal PNAS.

LIBERIA: 'Unqualified Employees' threaten healthcare

12 November 2009: The President of the West Africa College of Nursing (WACN), Mrs. Dedeh Jones has blamed the drastic decline in the standard of the nursing education and practice in the country to the employment of "unqualified medical personnel' who do not meet the basic standard of the profession.

UK: NHS nurses must have degree under new rules

Anyone who wishes to become a nurse will need to have a degree within four years, in one of the biggest shake-ups of medical education in the history of the NHS.

UK: Letters: Nursing stereotypes and the caring profession

Sir, I am amazed at the coverage given to the news that in England (at long last) entry to nursing will require a university degree (reports, Nov 12).

UK: Four-hour A&E target is putting patients at risk, warn nurses

12 November 2009: The four-hour A&E target means many nurses are 'pushed into risky practices'. Nurses are being 'pressured' into manipulating data and falsifying information to meet Government targets, the Royal College of Nursing has claimed.

US: Bill Gates’ plan for fixing the world

11 November 2009: Rather than spread his money over dozens of causes, Gates is focusing on a few specific issues, where he hopes his hands-on approach and vast resources will make a significant difference. In his case, those causes include providing necessary medicine and equipment to help stop the spread of disease, finding vaccines for the likes Malaria and AIDS, and improving education, both in the US and around the world.

VIETNAM reporting: Australia report shows 'tragic' health for Aborigines

SYDNEY, Nov 11, 2009 (AFP) - Aborigines can still expect to die up to 11.5 years earlier than other Australians and are twice as likely to die as infants, figures showed, despite government pledges to tackle their health problems.

NL: Neuroimaging provides insights into new treatment options for Alzheimer's disease

10 November 2009: With about 35 million people around the world suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD) by the year 2010 and an expectation that these numbers will double every twenty years with approximately 115 million cases by 2050, pressure on healthcare systems worldwide will be intense. In a special issue of the journal Behavioural Neurology, twelve contributions from an international group of researchers discuss imaging techniques that may contribute to early diagnosis and advancements in treatment for this devastating disease.

House Healthcare vote win for Catholics

10 November 2009: It is difficult to over estimate the degree to which the vote in the House, passing a comprehensive health care reform bill, was a huge victory for the Catholic Church.

US: AMA opposes ‘don’t ask, don’t tell;’ says gay marriage bans contribute to health disparities

10 November 2009: The American Medical Association on Tuesday voted to oppose the military’s ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy, and declared that gay marriage bans contribute to health disparities.

Obama hails 'historic vote' to remake health care

8 November 2009: US President Barack Obama late on Saturday hailed the House of Representatives' "historic vote" to remake US health care and said he was sure of signing the ambitious overhaul in 2009.

Exploring genetic susceptibility to autism: An expert interview with Hakon Hakonarson, MD, PhD

5 November 2009: A pair of studies recently published in Nature [1,2] identified genetic changes associated with autism spectrum disorders, opening new avenues to predict the risk for these neurodevelopmental syndromes.

UK: NCEPOD highlights importance of training and safe staffing levels - Royal College Of Nursing, UK

6 November 2009: Responding to today's publication of the National Confidential Enquiry Into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) study, Dr Peter Carter of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) stressed the importance of ensuring safe staffing levels and giving nurses the opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills, so they are able to provide quality end-of-life care.

US: With doctors in short supply, responsibilities for nurses may expand

6 November 2009: If the health care system is overhauled, patients and practitioners are likely to face a primary care bottleneck, experts say. An estimated 30 million newly insured people will begin making appointments for check-ups and other routine care with physicians who are already stretched thin caring for existing patients.

US: Can the nurse practitioner write a prescription for someone who is not a patient?

5 November 2009: Is it legal for a nurse practitioner to write a non-narcotic prescription for someone who is not a patient of the hospital or office where the nurse practitioner practices? What if there is permission from the collaborating physician?

US: AMA, AARP endorse House healthcare plan

5 November 2009: Powerful doctor and senior lobbying organizations Thursday endorsed the U.S. House healthcare reform bill.

US: A new magazine celebrating the nursing lifestyle

4 November 2009: Nurses work long hours, sometimes for little pay, and are often under-appreciated for their caregiving work. But some recognition is being thrown their way, via a new magazine. Called Scrubs (as in the uniforms most nurses wear), it's being touted as the first lifestyle magazine for nurses. That's right, nurses have a lifestyle, and this new magazine, debuting Nov. 15, celebrates that.

US: House Healthcare Reform Bill: What’s in it for nurses?

4 November 2009: Like all political propositions, healthcare reform has left nurses wondering what's in it for them. Why should they support a bill? What could it do to their roles?

UK: NHS workforce head's plea to avoid mass redundancy

The head of the NHS workforce has challenged managers to avoid imposing mass redundancies on the health service in a bid to save £20bn over the next five years. Sian Thomas, director of NHS Employers, warned trusts – and, by implication, politicians – to avoid the temptation of making quick savings by cutting back on jobs.