Study delivers good news for home births
Julia Medew Doctors and midwives say more women should be given access to publicly funded home births with hospital back-up after a study found they were associated with low rates of harm for women and their...
Millions could be lost as state hospitals fail test
Julia Medew Victorian hospitals are likely to lose millions of dollars in reward funding after they failed to reach some emergency department and elective surgery targets set by the federal government.
No-Frills IVF on the market
Julia Medew Infertile Australians are being offered a new discounted model of IVF, which can be thousands of dollars cheaper but offers a lower chance of success.
Swisse ads did mislead as complaint is upheld again
Julia Medew and Rachel Wells A new assessment of Swisse vitamins advertisements has again found the company misled consumers about what its products can do with insufficient evidence to prove it.
New melanoma drug treatment a 'game-changer'
Julia Medew Australian cancer patients will soon be able to test potentially 'game-changing' melanoma treatment that could extend their lives for years.
Industry push to allow gluten in 'gluten-free' foods
Julia Medew and Mark Hawthorne Food manufacturers want to increase the amount of gluten allowed in ''gluten-free'' foods.
Bed-sharing increases SIDS risk
Julia Medew Some doctors are calling for parents to be explicitly told not to sleep with their infants after a large study found it led to a five-fold increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
Preventive surgery given low priority in public hospitals
Julia Medew, Amy Corderoy Australian women are waiting up to two years to have the surgery Angelina Jolie had to reduce her high chance of breast cancer, and doctors fear these waiting times could increase.
Cough medicines linked to surgery complications
Julia Medew Anaesthetists are calling for 53 cough medicines and lozenges to be withdrawn from the Australian market because of concerns they are causing life-threatening allergic reactions during surgery.
Epilepsy patients find device can predict seizures
Julia Medew In a world first, Australian doctors have found a way to predict the onset of seizures in people with epilepsy that does not respond to drug treatments.
Move to reveal doctor drug deals
Julia Medew Medical Association drops opposition to scheme that would shine a light on pharmaceutical companies' payments.
Doctors on alert over new bird flu
Julia Medew Australian health authorities are preparing to combat China's new strain of bird flu.
Patients, doctors say complaint resolution too slow
Julia Medew Complaints against health professionals under Australia's new national regulation system are taking years to process, leaving patients aggrieved and practitioners in turmoil for long periods of time.
Surge in complaints prompts three-strikes call for doctors
Julia Medew Complaints against doctors have jumped 25 per cent this year, prompting the Medical Board of Australia to review its operations.
Doctor study exposes extent of complaints
Julia Medew About 3 per cent of doctors are known to be 'frequent flyers' among health commissioners investigating complaints, the largest ever medico-legal study conducted in Australia has revealed.
Kangaroo meat not as healthy as you think
Julia Medew Kangaroo meat may not be as healthy as previously thought after scientists found a component of red meat most prevalent in the iconic Australian animal is linked to heart disease.
Drugs and alcohol: the secret life of us
Julia Medew Scores of middle-class Australians are drinking at dangerous levels and ending up in emergency departments with alcohol-related problems, the largest survey of Australians' present drug and alcohol...
Superbug reports spark concern
Julia Medew Healthy Australian men are falling ill with superbug infections after prostate biopsies, and doctors fear the bacteria is coming from contaminated food.
Surgery could soon become deadly
Julia Medew Superbugs could soon make routine surgical procedures deadly for healthy people if authorities do not start introducing measures to tackle them, doctors say.
Clinic ships in eggs from US 'bank' to tackle shortage
Julia Medew Australians have started paying $19,000 to import eggs from American women under a new deal that will provide hope to thousands of infertile women.
