According to the National Health and Medical Research Council – NHMRC clinical trials across Australia are in the following categories:
– treatment trials to test new treatments, new medicines or combinations of medicines; or other new therapies such as surgery, the use of new medical devices or new approaches to surgery
– diagnostic or screening trials to evaluate tests or procedures to diagnose and detect diseases or conditions
– prevention trials to test new ways to prevent disease including medicines, vaccines, vitamins, or changes to diet, lifestyle or behaviour
Clinical trials in Australia need to be efficiently administrated and resourced with qualified healthcare professionals as well as suitable patients.
Shanny Dyer, CEO ARCS Australia talks about a recent summit where the CRO (Contract Research Organization) community was asked on the current state of clinical trials in Australia. Commentary from:
– Tanya Symons, Director at T Symons Associates
– Daniela Caiazza, Director Clinical Operations ANZ, Novotech CRO
– Adam Stoneley, Research Operations Manager, Icon Cancer Centre
– Gabrielle McKee, Chief Operating Officer, CNS Clinical Network
– Joe Taouk, Senior Director Research and Development, IQVIA
#AustralianHealthJournal #ClinicalTrials
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Study on digital tool for pharmacists in aged care
In March 2022, the Australia government announced $350 million of funding over 4 years to employ on-site pharmacists in residential aged care, starting July 2023. In April 2023, the government made changes to the proposed on-site pharmacists, where the new program will now be delivered by and through community pharmacies. Regardless of how the model will be implemented, the goal remains the same – to improve quality use of medicines and medicines safety for aged care residents.
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Handling modern day diets and misinformation as a HCP
Laureate Professor Clare Collins AO in Nutrition and Dietetics at the University of Newcastle, emphasises the need for accurate and reliable nutrition information to reach the public. Prof Collins believes that it is vital for clinicians to stay up-to-date with cutting-edge nutrition science and work with communication organisations to disseminate information to the general public. This is particularly important as social media is full of both reliable and unreliable information on dietary patterns, such as veganism.
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The world of AI avatars in dementia care
Dementia care is one of the critical issues facing the aged care industry. About 500,000 Australians currently live with the brain disorder condition, and this is tipped to rise to 1.1 million in a generation.
How to effectively provide quality care for people living with dementia was a key element of the royal commission into aged care, which found the complex care required was an ongoing challenge for the industry.
