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GPs final column discusses 'bollocksology' and cherishing thank-you cards. A BMJ columnist has wrapped up her final column for the journal with musings on life as a GP, including advice to doctors to call out ‘bollocksology’, that appalling workloads won't be cured by resilience and why you should cherish all your thank-you cards. In her last ‘N...

Dr Ewen McPhee. Photo: RDAA Dr Ewen McPhee says the college is entering a new chapter and hopes it will bring health equity across Australia! ACRRM’s new President, a rural generalist campaigner from Queensland, has promised to agitate for policies that deliver health equity for rural and remote communities. Dr Ewen McPhee, a GP obstetrician fro...

The more depressed the patient, the more likely they are to have the rheumatoid condition. Older patients with depressive symptoms should be screened for arthritis, according to US researchers who say while it's common to check for depression with arthritis, the reverse doesn't happen as often. Data from nearly 4800 adults aged over 50 reveal ar...

Seeing patients with psychological issues, including depression, mood disorders and anxiety, are the most common ailments GPs deal with day to day, according to an RACGP survey. When asked, 'What are the emerging patient health issues causing you the most concern for the future', psychological issues again topped the list, followed by obesity an...

Women giving birth at home or in birth centres are more likely to have a normal vaginal birth, with no difference in adverse infant outcomes compared with hospital births, a meta-analysis shows. The choice of homebirth means women with low-risk pregnancies are nearly three times more likely to have a non-instrumental delivery than if they have a...

A cheaper thrombolytic appears to double the chances of reperfusion in patients with ischaemic stroke prior to thrombectomy, compared with the standard drug, Australian research shows. The double-blinded, randomised controlled trial of 200 patients found tenecteplase was non-inferior to alteplase, and patients had better functional outcomes afte...

OPINION Dr John Dwyer, one of founders of the Friends of Science in Medicine, argues that regulators need to do more. You can read Universal Medicine's response to this article here. In 1999, a tennis coach from Maroubra, Serge Benhayon, supposedly experienced a series of awakenings that imparted to him detailed understanding of how the body wor...

The Federal Government’s claims of a record health budget don’t stand up to close scrutiny because funding is actually falling on a per-capita basis, health economists say. In its budget analysis, Macquarie University's Centre for the Health Economy (MUCHE) warns that while the budget has no short-term losers, it has deferred the reforms and inv...

They’ve come in for some bad press, but health star ratings are actually doing a fairly good job of defining what a nutritious packaged food is, a study reveals. Sydney researchers have found that, in most cases, the five-star rating system aligns with the Australian Dietary Guidelines, and where they’re misleading, it’s the guidelines that have...

GP rebates for post-bronchodilator spirometry tests are set to double after the Federal Government finally accepted calls by the Medicare Review Taskforce to improve the detection of serious respiratory conditions. The MBS funds about 280,000 tests a year but there has been long-running concern that the $20.55 rebate is inadequate for the time i...