INTERVENTION IN HEARING LOSS FOR AUSTRALIAN PATIENTS ACROSS CARE SETTINGS AND WITH PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS Audiologist talks about indications for GPs, pharmacists, primary care nurses and specialists.
Lauren McNee, is an Audiologist and National Clinic Coordinator Training Manager at Audika Australia, with over 15 years of extensive experience in the industry. For the past five years, she has been dedicated to providing comprehensive training and support for the audiological team and front desk staff at Audika. Her primary focus is to ensure that clients receive the highest standard of care, aligning with industry-leading practices.
Throughout her career, Lauren has been an advocate for early and routine hearing tests, stressing the importance of integrating them into general medical check-ups, especially for individuals diagnosed with conditions such as diabetes. She firmly believes that proactive screening for hearing loss can significantly impact an individual’s overall well-being and the effectiveness of medical treatments.
In her role, Lauren emphasises the urgency of addressing sudden hearing loss, highlighting the time-sensitive nature of available treatment options. She advises healthcare professionals, including GPs, pharmacists, primary care nurses and specialists, to remain vigilant for subtle signs of hearing loss in their patients. Such signs may include difficulty following prescription guidelines, miscommunication during conversations, or non-verbal cues like a tilt of the head or asking for repetitions.
Furthermore, Lauren underscores the crucial role of professionals in various settings, such as aged care nurses and pharmacists, in identifying and addressing hearing loss issues among their clients in the community.
Beyond her clinical work, Lauren actively promotes the understanding of recreational and commercial noise-induced hearing loss. She highlights the potential long-term consequences of recreational noise exposure, such as prolonged use of earbuds and exposure to loud household and leisure activities.
In commercial settings, Lauren advocates for the proactive use of protective equipment for hearing loss in industries such as mining or construction, where individuals may be exposed to hazardous noise levels without proper protection.
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Success in WA pilot to observe babies showing delays in social interaction & communication development
Inklings – led by The Kids Research Institute Australia – is a program for babies aged 6-18 months whose communications skills are developing differently to expected milestones. In early 2025 it has completed the first year of a pilot program.
At the time of filming (Nov 2024), Inklings has received more then 300 enquiries across WA and started to deliver services to 160 children, with almost 60 who have completed the program.
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Changes in MBS bulk billing incentives address GP capacity in women’s health
Dr. Sneha Wadhwani, a General Practitioner in Bondi, and Conjoint Lecturer at UNSW School of Medicine, is actively involved in enhancing women’s health services across Australia. As the Co-founder and Clinical Director of Evoca Women’s Health, she highlights the significant improvements in funding for women’s health, particularly with the new MBS bulk billing incentives, in new codes, that commenced on November 1, 2025.
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Lens on patient care & allied health workforce across settings
The CEO of Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA), Bronwyn Morris-Donovan spoke with Australian Health Journal about the following:
The structure and priorities for AHPA
The setting and disciplines in Allied Health
Allied Health representation in the Strengthening Medicare Task Force
Importance of a data strategy and interoperability in delivery of allied health services
Key allied health priorities hopefully addressed in Federal Budget.In the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
