http://www.medicalobserver.com.auLatest news and articles from Medical Observer6/07/2008 7:30:11 AMMedical Observer - CMP Medica5NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 KATE Carnell (pictured) was once accused of being a government mouthpiece, but the departed AGPN chief has branded the Department of Health and Ageing (DOHA) as a micro-manager whose reporting requirements are “extraordinarily counterproductive”. In a parting shot after four years at the helm of the GP group, Ms Carnell said the department’s intense scrutiny of divisions had resulted in their being drained of resources, and communities missing out on services. “Because... they are heavy handed in their micro-management of divisions, they don’t get the...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2810NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 A QUARTER of patients with hypertension may be resistant to treatment, and there are concerns that the obesity epidemic and NSAID use are contributing to the problem. While the true prevalence of the condition is unknown, evidence from study participants suggests the problem is widespread. Last month, the American Heart Association (AHA) estimated that as many as 20% to 30% of patients with hypertension could be classified as being resistant to medication. In a statement published in Hypertension , a US panel of experts defined resistant hypertension as blood pressure above 140/90...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2811NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 GP super clinics will backfire on the government by driving up hospital waiting lists and causing Medicare budget blowouts, according to a damning new report. Dr Jeremy Sammut (PhD), research fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney, argues that rather than reducing waiting lists, the clinics will identify thousands of new ones requiring more specialist referrals and hospital treatment. His report, The False Promise of GP Super Clinics , follows a recent address in which health minister Nicola Roxon emphasised the benefits of these “innovative models of service...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2812NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 THE combination of a symptom index with the CA125 marker improves prediction of ovarian cancer, identifying more than 80% of women with early stage disease, researchers say. A case control study of high-risk women showed that questioning them about symptoms such as pain, bloating and difficulty eating significantly improved prediction of the cancer after controlling for CA125 levels. The study compared the predictive value of the symptom index plus CA125 in 75 women diagnosed with ovarian cancer, with its use in 254 controls enrolled in a high-risk screening program. Used alone,...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2813NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 GPs will be able to earn CPD points for taking courses in non-traditional therapies when the RACGP opens its Faculty of Integrative Medicine. The faculty is expected to assess and accredit courses in a wide range of mind-body subjects, including spirituality, meditation, hypnosis, environmental medicine and evidence-based herbal medicine. “We encourage doctors to gain a broader knowledge in integrative healthcare approaches, and if they wish to be trained in this area, [we encourage them to] do it through a course accredited by the college,” said Dr Vicki Kotsirilos, who...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2814NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 ABOUT one in 10 GP consultations involves a mental health issue, a major national health snapshot reveals. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report Australia’s Health 2008 found mental illness is responsible for nearly one-third of health costs for people aged 15-44, yet it receives only 8% of the health budget. Mental Health Council of Australia CEO David Crosbie said more funding was needed for community support and housing of people with mental illness. “Early intervention could prevent a crisis situation,” he said. “All too quickly...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2815NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 CALLS from Victorian Premier John Brumby for all major Australian hospitals to employ at least one bulk-billing GP have been categorically dismissed by GP groups. Mr Brumby entered the health reform debate with a 10-point plan which, along with supporting super clinics and allied health professional prescribing, also appealed for the federal government to provide an extra $1 billion funding to be delivered via Australian Health Care Agreements. The AMA and AGPN both rejected the proposal. AGPN chair Dr Tony Hobbs said similar systems had failed in the past. “GPs do not...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2816NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 THE much-lauded success of the primary care collaboratives program – which has attracted $20 million in government funding in the past five years – has been called into question with the publication of an international systematic review of the model. The review, in the latest BMJ , says evidence of the model’s success is limited, so its effects “cannot be predicted with any great certainty”. “Considering that quality improvement collaboratives seem to play a key part in current strategies..., further knowledge of the basic components’...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2817NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 MAJOR health organisations have joined a push for a uniform national strategy to reduce “unacceptably high” rates of sexual and reproductive illnesses. The 29 groups, including the Public Health Association, Sexual Health and Family Planning, Reproductive Health Alliance and the RACGP, say action is urgently needed on a range of issues, including increasingly early rates of adolescent sexual activity and sexual vulnerability associated with substance abuse. Wide variation between states and territories on the legal status of abortion and inconsistent access to...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2818NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 AUSTRALIA’S leading representative health bodies have formalised their collaboration by announcing the National Primary Health Care Partnership. The 19 organisations have joined forces to lobby the federal government. The partnership includes the AGPN and a range of allied health groups. The AMA has been conspicuously absent from the...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2819NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 HEALTH professionals should be strong advocates for action to reduce the impact of climate change, similar to the role they played in the war against smoking, a British public health expert says. Writing in the BMJ , Professor Mike Gill , co-chair of the UK Climate and Health Council, said our high carbon consumption lifestyles could even be considered an “addiction that is more destructive than tobacco, and irreversibly so”. “We have not yet developed the professional attitudes, language or conceptual framework needed to make it easy and legitimate to tackle this...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2820NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 AT East Fremantle Medical Centre, GPs are constantly reminded to switch off. The practice has placed small thermometers next to its airconditioner controls, reminding staff to switch off the units when necessary or, even better, not to switch them on in the first place. Dr Hilary Fine said the inexpensive thermometers meant the minimum and maximum temperatures specified in the practice’s green policy were adhered to. “It makes people stop and think, which is much better than a sign,” Dr Fine said. “It is cheap and cheerful, and it works.” ...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2821NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 PHARMACISTS may be set to play a bigger role in hypertension management if Australian research confirms overseas findings showing their involvement improves blood pressure control. The Department of Health and Ageing is funding Pharmacy Guild research trialling a scheme in which community pharmacists help patients to reach and maintain target blood pressure. Submissions to develop and run the trial closed in June. Guild spokesman Barry Schultz said pharmacists were ideally placed to issue reminders to patients, ensuring they came back in time for their next script. Associate...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2822NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 THE Australian government has pumped an unprecedented $190 million into the care of young children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Under the four-year package, families with children younger than six with an ASD diagnosis will receive up to $12,000 over two years to access a range of one-to-one early intervention services. Families in rural and remote areas will receive an additional $2000 to help with training, respite and other resources. The Helping Children with Autism package also includes support from autism advisers, plus Medicare rebates for ASD diagnosis and 20...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2823NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 WOMEN diagnosed with breast cancer during pregnancy have a 14% higher risk of death than other breast cancer patients, a study shows. Researchers compared 797 patients with pregnancy-associated breast cancer and more than 4000 age-matched breast cancer patients with no associated pregnancies. Tumours in women with pregnancy-associated breast cancer were less likely to be hormone receptor positive, and those with hormone receptor negative tumours had a 20% higher risk of death, the researchers found. Possible mechanisms include relative immune suppression in pregnancy or differences...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2824NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 INFANTS with a low pain score based on behavioural assessments may not actually be pain free. Brain scans of infants undergoing the heel prick test revealed they experienced pain processed at the cortical level without detectable behavioural changes. The UK study measured cortical haemodynamic activity in 12 infants aged 25-43 weeks, using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). This was compared to a clinical pain score, calculated using the premature infant pain profile (PIPP), which scores facial expressions and physiological measures including heart rate. While there was “good...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2825NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 WHEN Mark Twain described golf as a “good walk spoiled”, he obviously did not consider its health benefits. A study of 300,000 Swedish golfers has found their mortality rates were about 60% of those of the country’s general population. The researchers suggested regular rounds of golf could add as much as five years to an average lifespan. Golfers with the lowest handicaps had the lowest mortality rates. An opinion in The Lancet said this was possibly because they played more often. Recreational players generally carried their clubs and walked further than...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2826NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 GP super clinics were a central part of the Rudd government’s health policy in the run-up to the last election. Health minister Nicola Roxon has made it clear that super clinics will be an important part of her efforts to enable multidisciplinary primary health care. AGPN has been working closely with the minister’s office to ensure the policy is workable. I’ve made it clear that a requirement for total bulk-billing or government ownership of the clinics would ensure policy failure. The minister has listened and these two issues are now part of the super clinic policy....http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2827NewsSat, 4 Jul 2008 A FEW years ago South Australia was seen as one of the most proactive states when it came to improving access to rural health services. The SA government showed it was listening to the RDAA when it put in place a range of workforce incentives such as locum and after-hours support. These seemed to be making a difference and SA was beginning to attract more doctors to rural areas. But last month that good work was undermined. The SA government announced a 10-year plan for rural health services that threatens to downgrade many hospitals and healthcare services. Most critically, it...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?n=2828Clinical ReviewSat, 4 Jul 2008 This powerful demographic tide is set to wash GPs to the top of the treatment pyramid. Kate Woods reports. IT’S a well-known fact: the world’s population is ageing. If the trend continues as predicted, the United Nations estimates the proportion of young and old people will cross over in just three generations. The change – labelled the “demographic revolution” – is expected to rival the magnitude of the industrial revolution, considered one of the most significant social and economic breakthroughs. “Over the past few years, the...http://www.medicalobserver.com.au?c=2829