Electrocardiograms are a common tool used by GPs to spot heart problems, and every medical student is trained to interpret one. Yet the government plans to remove Medicare funding for GPs to do this.
From the benefits of telehealth to the importance of integrating public and private systems, the COVID-19 pandemic offers several valuable lessons for Australia’s health system.
Reports suggest people have been visiting their GPs for a certificate clearing them of COVID-19, at the request of their employer or school. But doctors can’t conclusively clear a person of the virus.
Starting this week, all Australians with a Medicare card are eligible for telehealth consultations, where you talk to your GP by video or phone. But there’s still some things you’ll need to go in for.
The convenience of digital consultations can be compelling. But these services aren’t without risk – especially when people don’t interact directly with a health-care professional.
Antibiotics aren’t a one-size-fits-all treatment – the one you had last time might not work on the infection you have at the moment. So how do doctors determine which one is likely to work?
Prominent GP and former MP Kerryn Phelps has weighed into the doctor-pharmacist turf war, saying pharmacists shouldn’t prescribe because of their financial interests. But the evidence says otherwise.
One in four Australians is overweight or obese by the time they reach adolescence, but it’s difficult to predict who is at risk. These three questions can help.
New modelling shows skipping the need for a doctors’ prescription and going straight to a pharmacist for the pill could save the health system A$96 million a year and improve women’s health outcomes.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne