Latest News

My Health Record Media Release for Parents

The Australian Digital Health Agency is encouraging parents to find out more about the benefits of having a My Health Record for their children through their local GP, pharmacy or other healthcare providers they deal with as well as through the website www.myhealthrecord.gov.au

Reforms to Medicare compliance– firmer but fairer?

Law reforms introduced from 1 July 2018 have given Medicare stronger debt recovery powers. The legislation also provides for fairer approaches to compliance, by apportioning responsibility for overpayments between both doctors and their employers or contractors, including public hospitals.

Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said the legislation aims to deal with the “very, very small number of outliers” who don’t comply, at the same time acknowledging “the outstanding degree of integrity” among the medical workforce when the Act was being reviewed by Parliament.

Ultrasound transducers now don't need to be registered

From July 2018, ultrasound providers no longer need to register individual ultrasound transducers on their practices’s equipment list.

Diabetes apps: regulation concerns grow

In an article in the latest Medical Journal of Australia, Melbourne endocrinologists Dr Rahul Barmanray and Dr Esther Briganti say patients should be warned aboiut the potential for insulin dosing errors with glycaemic control smartphone apps.

First Online Survey – Painaustralia National Action Plan

The Australian Government recently announced funding for Painaustralia to develop a National Action Plan on Chronic Pain Management.  The National Action Plan is a critical and overdue step towards improving quality of life for the millions of Australians who live with chronic pain (daily pain that lasts three months or longer) and reducing the burden of pain which is increasingly impacting families, communities and the economy. The Plan will set out key priority areas and measures to improve access to, and knowledge of, best practice pain management in the next three to five years. 

Major step forward in cancer research

Australian scientists have taken a "major step forward" in the world of cancer research with the discovery of a new type of drug that can put cancer cells in animals into a permanent state of sleep.

Legislative changes to tighten privacy and security protections for My Health Record

In response to a growing privacy backlash, the Federal Government has announced legislative changes to My Health Record to restrict access by law enforcement and government agencies and allow records to be deleted by those who choose to withdraw from the system, with the opt out period also expected to be extended.

MERS and the Hajj (August 19 to August 24)

Approximately 3000 Australians travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia each year for the annual Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj).The Kingdom is experiencing an ongoing outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), associated with infections in healthcare facilities and exposure to camels and camel products.

Rural Australia - Don't Opt Out

Australia’s peak body for rural and remote health is urging all country people to embrace My Health Record - an online summary of their health information.

Cancer Institute NSW - Take one small step to make one big difference

Despite the significant reduction in smoking rates across NSW, tobacco remains the largest cause of preventable disease and death in NSW with over 47,000 people hospitalised and nearly 5,500 deaths attributed to smoking each year.