Hidden costs of DIY genetic tests
PEOPLE should think carefully before buying do-it-yourself genetic tests over the internet, says an Australian scientist.
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Internet
The following articles have the tag Internet
Twitter could improve your health
IT’S usually considered the bane of workplace productivity but Twitter may have genuine preventive health benefits when it comes to heart disease, a Sydney University study has found.
Internet alert on drug harm
INTERNET searches could be harnessed to provide early warning of adverse drug events, researchers say.
Online SIDS advice often wrong
FEWER than half the websites found in a Google search for advice on SIDS prevention provide accurate information, a study shows.
Gaming addiction may cause harm similar to drug abuse
CITING online gaming addiction and sexting as examples, psychiatrists say they are concerned about the potential impact of the Internet, media and technology on the mental health of children.
AMC a ‘supporter’ of US piracy bill
THE Australian Medical Council (AMC) has been forced to distance itself from the controversial US bill aimed at killing internet piracy after it was unexpectedly revealed as the only Australian-based organisation on its list of supporters.
Internet addiction as damaging as drugs
INTERNET addiction affects nerve fibres in the brain causing similar changes to those exposed to alcohol, cocaine and cannabis, a Chinese study shows.
Gen Y replacing GPs with internet
THE generation that brought the world Facebook, Justin Bieber and planking has an even less impressive notch on its collective belt – being number one when it comes to online self-diagnosis and taking unprescribed medication.
Online GP promo videos the way of the future?
OPERATORS of a novel web video-based approach for US doctors to spruik their services have called on GPs to revolutionise the way they make initial contact with and earn the trust of prospective patients.
Online GP promo videos the way of the future?
An example of a Screen The Doc promo video OPERATORS of a novel web video-based approach for US doctors to spruik their services have called on GPs to revolutionise the way they make initial contact with and earn the trust of prospective patients. The initiative, titled ‘Screen the Doc’, recently launched by US-based marketing firm, Bon’s Eye Marketing, is aimed at providing Internet-savvy patients with the means to research and select a doctor in their area via short personal introductory video vignettes. According to the company, the 60- ...
Pink Lady sex pills a health risk, says TGA
A “100% herbal” medication that promises to improve a woman’s sex life has been found to contain the active ingredient tadalafil. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has issued a public warning recommending against the use of Pink Lady for Women capsules, sold via the Internet, as they may pose a health risk. “In Australia, commercial supply of Pink Lady for Women capsules is illegal,” the TGA said on its website. While the product label claims the ingredients to be herbal in origin, “analysis undertaken by the TGA Laboratories in Australia has confirmed the presence of therapeutic ...
Mums warned about sourcing breast milk online
THE growing use of the Internet to arrange human breast milk donations is worrying experts, who say the practice could expose babies to diseases and contaminants. Facebook groups such as Eats on Feets have networks across Australia, connecting needy mothers with suppliers who may airfreight the milk across the country. While concerned about women sourcing breast milk from strangers, Dr Jennifer James (PhD), director of the Lactation Consultants of Australia and New Zealand, said the situation was an indictment on a society that failed to provide adequate human milk banks. Only two banks currently operate in Australia, ...
Warning on sourcing breast milk from Internet
THE growing use of the Internet to arrange human breast milk donations is worrying experts, as babies may be exposed to disease or contaminants. Facebook groups such as Eats on Feets have networks in every state and territory in Australia, connecting needy mothers with potential suppliers who may airfreight the milk across the country. Dr Jennifer James (PhD), director of the Lactation Consultants of Australia and New Zealand, said while she had concerns about women sourcing breast milk from strangers, the situation was an indictment on a society that failed to provide adequate human milk banks, with ...
Cyberbullying’s silent victims
For some time, bullying has been acknowledged as more than a ‘character building’ aspect of growing up. Bullying is the use of power and aggression to cause distress or to control another person. It is about maladaptive relationships between people. Bullying is a substantial problem for many Australian children. Surveys suggest around 20% of early high school-aged adolescents will report having been bullied in the preceding 12 months, a similar proportion report being victims of bullying and around 5% report being both aggressors and victims. Bullying can be direct or indirect. Direct bullying involves an overt display ...
Patients’ Internet use an insight into their mental health
CLINICIANS should ask patients specifically about their Internet use, an Australian psychiatrist says. Cherrie Galletly, professor of psychiatry at the University of Adelaide, says asking about the Internet can be a “useful addition to a standard mental health assessment”. In a letter to the MJA, she outlined examples of problematic Internet usage. These included: obsessively accessing Internet pornography to the detriment of real-world relationships; harmful levels of discreet gambling; excessive participation in online games; and engaging in, or suffering from, bullying and other socially destructive behaviour on social networking sites. The Internet was increasingly being incorporated ...
Internet overuse depressing young people
TEENAGERS who spend unhealthy amounts of time surfing the Internet face a higher risk of becoming depressed, researchers say. Pathological users were around 2.5 times as likely to develop depression over nine months, a new study of more than 1000 teens in China showed. The study is the latest in a growing body of research linking pathological Internet usage with mental health problems, but is the first to address the question prospectively in teens who were healthy to begin with. The authors suggest that pathological Internet use could cause depression in previously healthy teenagers, and call ...
Spot the difference?
Around the world the prevalence of counterfeit drugs is skyrocketing. Kirrilly Burton reports.
TGA warns against online slimming gel with secret ingredient
THE TGA has warned consumers against buying a slimming product online that may contain traces of sibutramine. Laboratory analyses of Botanical Slimming 100% Natural Soft Gel, sometimes sold as Meizitang, have revealed traces of sibutramine not disclosed in the product’s labelling. According to its US distributor, the product contains extracts of zi su, oriental water plantain, cassia seed, fu ling and medical amylum and is claimed to restrain the activity of lipase in the stomach and intestinal canal to enable fat to be excreted rather than absorbed. The TGA has advised people to “cease using it and ...
‘Wiki’ launched to provide quality mental health information online
A ‘WIKI’ guide to mental health information where only those with knowledge and experience of mental health can contribute has been launched. The collaborative web guide, similar to Wikipedia, aims to provide accurate, high-quality information about mental health issues. Launched to counteract what they say is the vast amount of irrelevant and inaccurate information available on the web, only health professionals, academic researchers and patient and carer advocates are allowed to contribute. The site’s founders, from the Orygen Youth Health Research Centre in Melbourne, say a formal evaluation examining the level of use and comparing information quality ...
Be proactive on patients’ Internet self-diagnosis, doctors urged
CLINICIANS need to initiate a discussion with patients about their use of the Internet to research health issues because many are withholding this information from their therapists, Australian psychiatrists say. A survey from two Sydney private practices revealed that 78% of patients used the Internet to research mental health, but just 38% of these discussed the information during consultations. Study authors Dr John Lam-Po-Tang and Dr Diana McKay warned that this information was likely to be influencing patients’ health decisions. “This survey has encouraged us to take the initiative and discuss with our patients what they read ...
Protecting your online reputation
Just posted some pictures of yourself at a party last night on your social networking page? Caroline Brettingham-Moore warns of the risks to your professional image. SOCIAL media sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have introduced a whole new dimension to the way practitioners not only interact with their colleagues, but also their patients and the general public. One of the many issues facing medical practitioners who have a profile on sites like MySpace, Windows Live Spaces and Facebook is ensuring that patients understand the boundaries between a doctor’s professional and personal life. And ...
Internet intervention curbs hazardous drinking
AN Internet-based intervention can effectively reduce drinking among university students with hazardous consumption levels, research shows. Among 2050 students whose drinking was considered hazardous (more than eight standard drinks per drinking occasion), those randomised to receive the intervention reduced their drinking frequency and consumption by 17% after one month. While their drinking frequency and volume had increased by six months, it was still less than those not randomised to the intervention. The intervention involved a 10-minute web-based motivational assessment, including an estimate of their spending on alcohol per month and year, health risks assessment, comparisons of ...
Online antibiotic resistance risk
THERE are a large number of websites offering to supply antibiotics without prescription, US researchers say, with dangerous health consequences. An Internet search found 138 unique English-speaking vendors selling antibiotics in the US, Canada and the UK and could theoretically be accessed in Australia. Of these, 36.2% sold antibiotics without prescription, with the remaining filling prescriptions. Penicillins were available on 94.2% of sites, with the mean delivery time being eight days. Among the 96.4% of providers who sold macrolides, almost all sold azithromycin in quantities consistent with more than a single dose, which the researchers ...
X-ray software could leave GPs in the dark
CONCERNS are mounting over the lack of standard diagnostic imaging software and CD programs currently used by radiology services. Royal Australasian College of Surgeons vice-president Dr Ian Dickinson said surgeons and GPs were being hampered in clinical decision-making because of incompatible and poor quality images or equipment. “It’s a bizarre problem, because with every CD [of images] you have to load a program onto your computer and work out which buttons do what to read it, and they are all different,” he said. “I sometimes have to send patients down the corridor to get another x-ray, ...
The rise of e-teens
Social networking websites could be a useful avenue for health interventions. AROUND 87% of US adolescents use the Internet (compared to 66% of adults), and 55% of those teenagers use social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook and MySpace. It’s estimated that 8-to-18 year olds use media for six hours per day, and with the multitasking frequently seen with concomitant use of music, phone and computer, they are exposed to 8.5 hours of content each day. A 2008 survey of low-income youth showed more than 99% had mobile phones. They all used their phones to call ...
GP training needed to benefit from fast broadband network
EXTRA education and training in telemedicine and technology is needed for rural and remote GPs if they are to take full advantage of the Federal Government’s planned $43 billion national broadband network, experts have warned. This month, the Government announced the network would be rolled out over eight years from 2010, and would eventually connect 90% of all homes, businesses and schools to high-speed optical fibre broadband Internet. Internet speeds of up to 100 megabits per second would see telemedicine emerge as a more viable clinical tool for doctors, however, according to RACGP spokesman Associate Professor Ron Tomlins – former chair of the now-defunct GP Computing ...
Cyber practice
The Internet and email can work for both patients and doctors and could even improve your consultations, but there are some security issues to consider, as Mary Fallon reports. THE founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Reverend John Flynn, could be considered the pioneer of telemedicine in Australia. His tools were the pedal radio and de Havilland single-engine biplane. But things have changed a lot since then. Today sophisticated communications technologies deliver health services via the Internet, email and real-time video conferencing and are becoming a routine part of general practice across Australia. ...
Cyber bullying
What is the best intervention for this increasingly common social phenomenon? CYBER bullying is a form of bullying carried out through Internet services such as email, chat rooms or web pages or via mobile phone technologies. It is becoming increasingly common, is distressing to the victim and can be very dangerous. According to research undertaken by the NSW Department of Education and Training (2007) on the prevalence of cyber bullying, more than two-thirds of adolescents have attempted to conceal non-essential Internet use from parents; one in four have been bullied or harassed online; 17% have used ...
Calls to regulate Internet DNA tests
EXPERTS have called on the federal government to devise regulatory strategies to protect against direct-to-consumer DNA tests available on the Internet. At a recent meeting in Sydney, Professor David Weisbrot, president of the Australian Law Reform Commission, said while there were few laboratories currently conducting these tests in Australia, more than 33 US labs offered an estimated 40 DNA tests direct to consumers – and increasing numbers of Australians were taking advantage of these expensive services ( MO , 15 August ). The tests range from $250 for Dermagenetics to $300,000 for a personal genome. ...
Digital addiction
From Internet addiction to obesity, the new media has a significant impact on mental and physical health. Kirrilly Burton reports. BORN roughly between 1980 and 1995, they have been dubbed everything from Generation Y to the Echo Boomers. They are tech-savvy, multitask-oriented, and they want everything now. They’ve grown up with the Internet, iPods, mobile phones and video games, and, according to a 2007 Australian Communications and Media Authority report on media use among eight to 17 year olds, the Internet is integral to their lives, with an average of an hour and a quarter ...