General Practitioner News and Research

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Aussies avoiding regular dental check-ups: Report

According to a new report, the annual visit to the dentist is becoming a luxury for many Australians and almost 40 per cent of the population does not go for regular check-ups.

25 Apr 2011

Sequencing the genomes of cancer patients help doctors decide the best course of treatment

Two new studies highlight the power of sequencing cancer patients' genomes as a diagnostic tool, helping doctors decide the best course of treatment and researchers identify new cancer susceptibility mutations that can be passed from parent to child.

20 Apr 2011

Are GPs preventing patients from hearing properly?

Nearly 15,000 UK consumers answered questions about their hearing and their knowledge of hearing aids in the most comprehensive and largest survey ever undertaken in this field. The EuroTrak UK study will provide invaluable data for GPs, the NHS, Department of Health and the audiology profession. This study is now being publicised by The British Hearing Aid Manufacturers Association (BHAMA).

19 Apr 2011

Measles alert issued in Tasmania

Tasmanian health authorities have issued an alert over a measles case. They issued a statement revealing that a woman who travelled to Devonport on the Spirit of Tasmania on Monday has been diagnosed with the infectious disease. She was one of four people to contract measles while on board an Air Asia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne.

17 Apr 2011

New maternity scheme in Queensland

Queensland Health has introduced a new maternity scheme. The expecting mothers in Dysart, Middlemount, Moranbah, Clermont and Glenden shall now have a wider variety of options to choose from when it comes to choosing how their pregnancy be managed.

11 Apr 2011

Doctors, nurse and midwives bear brunt of NHS cuts

The Royal College of Nursing has also warned that hospital wards are becoming unsafe as there are just not enough frontline workers to look after patients or prevent the spread of infection. There are also fears that nurses are so overworked they are unable to carry out their most basic duties of care such attending to the needs of the vulnerable elderly.

10 Apr 2011

Cancer screening updates

Everyone in England aged 55 to 59 will be invited for a new test which could dramatically cut their chances of developing bowel cancer. This new test could save an extra 3,000 lives every year after the UK National Screening Committee gave the nod for it to be added to the NHS programme. The test known as Flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) differs to the current faecal occult blood (FOB) test, which relies on people sending off stool samples.

7 Apr 2011

Supplements are less well regulated than drugs and may have side effects, drug interactions and toxicities

Vitamins, herbs and other dietary supplements are sold as natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals and many people turn to them in an attempt to improve their health. Others seek supplements to lose weight or after hearing that they can help with serious medical conditions.

7 Apr 2011

Risperdal Consta can reduce risk of hospitalisation in patients with schizophrenia

New data from an independent prospective study presented last week at the 19th European Congress of Psychiatry shows treatment with Risperdal Consta is associated with a lower risk of hospitalisation in patients with schizophrenia compared to treatment with other antipsychotics over a 12-month period.

5 Apr 2011

Antibiotic treatment does not benefit patients with discoloured phlegm

Prescribing antibiotics for patients with discoloured phlegm caused by acute cough has little or no effect on alleviating symptoms and recovery, a Cardiff University study has found.

25 Mar 2011

Mosquitoes carry risk of Murray Valley encephalitis warn Victorian health authorities

After detecting some new cases of Murray Valley encephalitis in chickens, health authorities have warned Victorians to protect themselves from mosquito bites. Victoria's chief health officer, Dr John Carnie warned that the deadly disease had been detected in "sentinel" chickens at Cobram, Rutherglen, Toolamba and Bendigo. “These latest detections follow positive results in chickens in similar areas a month ago, including Barmah and Kerang… Evidence of the virus is again present in these areas,” Dr Carnie said.

24 Mar 2011

New concerns over prescription narcotics use

Over fifty Australian general practitioners have come under the scanner as part of a national crackdown on inappropriate prescribing of narcotics. The three-month campaign is being carried out by the Medicare following high levels of prescriptions for drugs such as OxyContin and OxyNorm. One GP has been found to be writing over 90 per cent of their prescriptions for narcotics. There are further concerns that the painkillers are being resold on the black market.

7 Mar 2011

Mater improves communication with external healthcare providers

A pilot of new web-based software designed to improve communication between Mater Health Services and external providers is being rolled out across Brisbane.

3 Mar 2011

Portola, Accumetrics sign agreement to develop and supply VerifyNow System

Accumetrics, Inc., a privately-held developer and marketer of the VerifyNow System, the first rapid and easy-to-use point-of-care diagnostic system for measuring platelet reactivity to multiple antiplatelet agents, announced today that the company has signed an agreement with Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop and supply the VerifyNow System and VerifyNowTests for use in clinical trials.

3 Mar 2011

Study: Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption may decrease risk of dementia

Experts agree that long-term alcohol abuse is detrimental to memory function and can cause neuro-degenerative disease. However, according to a study published in Age and Ageing by Oxford University Press today, there is evidence that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption may decrease the risk of cognitive decline or dementia.

2 Mar 2011

OTI receives additional order for 100,000 MediSmart healthcare biometric ID cards in Kenya

On Track Innovations Ltd., a global leader in contactless smart card solutions, has received an additional order for 100,000 MediSmartTM healthcare biometric ID cards for use by Kenyan-based Smart Applications International Ltd., a provider of technology driven secure healthcare solutions.

28 Feb 2011

Healthcare disparities seen in epilepsy patients with low socioeconomic status

A newly published report reveals patients with epilepsy and low socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to have uncontrolled seizures, drug-related side effects, and a lower overall quality of life. The study also indicates that low SES patients used the hospital emergency room more often and had more visits to a general practitioner than epileptic patients at higher socioeconomic levels. Full findings are now available in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy.

22 Feb 2011

Epilepsy patients with low SES more likely to have poor quality of life

A newly published report reveals patients with epilepsy and low socioeconomic status are more likely to have uncontrolled seizures, drug-related side effects, and a lower overall quality of life.

22 Feb 2011

Genomic Health to present prostate cancer studies at ASCO Genitourinary Cancer Symposium

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced the presentation of two studies at the American Society of Clinical Oncology® (ASCO®) Genitourinary (GU) Cancer Symposium, including complete results from its prostate cancer gene identification study, which identified 295 genes strongly associated with clinical recurrence following radical prostatectomy with great consistency across multiple tumor samples examined in each patient.

17 Feb 2011

Diagnosis of breast cancer in women over 70 leads to lower survival

Women over 70 are being diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage leading to lower survival from the disease in the elderly, new research showed today (Wednesday).

16 Feb 2011