Health

With pharmaceutical opioids linked to daily deaths and hospitalisations in Australia, a patient education guide has been launched. The guide, released this week by the NPS MedicineWise ‘Choosing Wisely Australia’ (CWA) initiative, is part of a national effort to help reduce the number of Australians experiencing harm from pharmaceutical opioids. …

A national initiative launched this week will use My Health Record to support and inform clinical decision-making on the frontline of emergency care. With more than 22 million Australians now having a My Health Record, a suite of clinical tools and resources to support the time-critical work and informed decision-making …

Pharmacists may be authorised to provide influenza vaccinations to children as young as 10 under regulation changes being considered by the South Australia government. Current regulations require a child to be at least 16 to receive a flu vaccination from a pharmacist in the state, but SA Minister for Health …

A recent report showing that more than 179,000 Queensland hospitalisations were potentially preventable in 2017-18 has prompted a call for action from the Pharmacy Guild. Responding to the recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report,1 the Guild’s Queensland Branch President, Professor Trent Twomey, said community pharmacists are highly trained, …

Recent winds, thunderstorms and bushfires across Victoria and NSW have prompted a health warning for those affected with asthma. The warning, from The National Asthma Council Australia, cautions health professionals that the extreme conditions, together with a high pollen alert, may put their patients at risk of serious asthma and …

The 2019 National Skin Cancer Action Week kicks off on Sunday, November 17 and runs through to Saturday, November 23. It’s an important reminder for all Australians to use sun protection and highlights the significance of early skin cancer detection. According to the Cancer Council Australia more than 2,000 Australians …

New research showing damage to the brain, heart, blood vessels and lungs through e-cigarettes has led cardiologists to call for their ban. The study, published in the European Heart Journal this week, also identifies some of the mechanisms involved, an aspect for which there has been limited information until now. Study …

Researchers have found that lean muscle mass plays more of a crucial role throughout someone’s middle-age than initially suspected. The amount of lean muscle mass a person has, more specifically men, is linked to their future risk of heart disease. The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health explains that muscular tissue …

To prevent heart disease and stroke, people aged over 60 should do more exercise, not less, according to findings from a study published in the European Heart Journal. Researchers in South Korea studied more than 1.1 million people aged 60 and above and found those who reduced levels of moderate …

The mounting risks to human health in Australia due to climate change require urgent government action, say the authors of the 2019 MJA-Lancet Countdown report. The report, published in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA), found that although some progress has been achieved in renewable energy generation – including substantial employment …