Nuclear medicine funding a win for men with prostate cancer
Australian men with higher risk prostate cancer now have access to a nuclear medicine scan to help detect and treat metastatic disease, after it was listed on the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) from 1st July 2022.
In 2021 over 18,000 Australian men were diagnosed with prostate cancer, resulting in over 3,000 lives being lost – and making prostate cancer Australia’s second most common cause of cancer death in men.
Australian Health Journal spoke with AANMS President Associate Professor Sze Ting Lee and Dr Geoff Schembri on the MBS listing and the efforts to get it listed.
Hair’s-breadth endoscopes to detect plaque
This coming World Heart Day (29th September 2021), Australian Health Journal’s People in Health Care series, releases a segment on Dr Jiawen Li.
Dr Jiawen Li is an inventor and highly adaptable engineer leading the intravascular imaging program at the Institute of Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS). She has developing an imaging device can be inserted into blood vessels to provide high quality 3D images to help scientists better understand the causes of heart attack and heart disease progression, and could lead to improved treatment and prevention.
Nursing Now Australia Launches
The evening of Tuesday 9th April saw the launch of Nursing Now Australia in Sydney, with Lord Nigel Crisp, Co-Chair of Nursing Now.
Professor Christine Duffield FACN, President of Australian College of Nursing welcomed the start of the campaign and explained the relevance to Australian Nurses.
Addressing Pharmacy challenges at home and abroad
Paul Sinclair’s progression through the ranks of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) demonstrates the impact and influence he’s had in representing the pharmacy profession on a global scale. In this Australian Health Journal interview, Paul talks about the 4 themes in the upcoming FIP Congress in Brisbane this month. He also talks about the challenges facing pharmacy with remuneration, professional service delivery and the workforce coming out of the COVID era.
Redefining diversity in clinical trials
Ensuring inclusion, diversity, equity and patient input in the development of novel drugs and medical devices has become well accepted in health care. However appropriate implementation of these elements has been a challenge for many. Only by implementing these conscious inputs can patient outcomes be improved and health disparities in marginalised groups be addressed.
Australian Health Journal spoke to Gillian Mason, Consumer and Community Involvement Lead at Hunter Medical Research Institute in Newcastle, NSW on this topic discussed at the recent ARCS Conference in Sydney.
Primary care remodelled
Tracey Johnson is the CEO of Inala Primary Care, a not-for-profit general practice located in Inala serving approximately 7000 patients; 4400 of whom attend clinic regularly. Inala is a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland and has a population of great cultural and linguistic diversity, with just under 40% of residents speaking English at home. It is also one of Queensland’s most socioeconomically marginalised urban areas.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Tracey on the role of Inala Primary care in reducing hospital admissions.