Health Sciences Blog 
Avoid drug company surcharges
Pharmaceutical companies have increased prices on 85 brands of medicines listed on the PBS. The brands of medicines, most of which were reduced in price in April following the Government's reforms to the PBS, have had their cost to consumers increase by up to $7.04 due to the pharmaceutical companies increasing a brand surcharge from August 1st. The PBS has published information which lists the brands that have increased in price and a corresponding list of less expensive brands.
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Drew Berry - molecular animator
Drew Berry is a world renowned biomedical animator who works for the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. He is head of WEHI.TV which explains the discoveries of scientists at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute through 3D animation.
Watch the animations that have been created.
He has received many awards and commendations for his work, the latest one being a MacArthur fellowship in 2010.
Watch this You Tube video on Drew Berry speaking on Communicating Science visually and speaking at TEDxSydney.
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Australias Health 2012 released
Australia's health 2012 is the 13th biennial health report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Australia's health is the AIHW's report card on the health of Australians and the functioning of their health system.
Some of the highlights from the current report
• Among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Australia compares well on indicators such as daily smoking, life expectancy and all-cause mortality (page 37).
• Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last century and continues to increase. A boy born in 2008-2010 can expect to live 79.5 years and a girl 84.0 years (page 120).
• Australia's level of smoking continues to fall and is among the lowest for OECD countries, with about 1 in 7 people (15%) aged 14 or older smoking daily in 2010 (page 221).
• Between 1989-90 and 2007-08, the age-standardised prevalence of diabetes more than doubled, increasing from 1.5% to 4.1% of the Australian population (page 298).
• Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is more common than is widely known, affecting 1 in 7 Australian adults to some degree. One in 10 deaths has CKD listed as a contributing factor (underlying or associated cause of death) (page 323).
• The number of workers in health occupations increased by 26% between 2005 and 2010 (606,900 to 766,800). This was higher than the 12% increase for all occupations (page 494). Growth over this period was highest for social workers (55%), psychologists (53%) and 'other health workers' (50%) (page 497).
• Health research expenditure comprises 14% of all research and development (R&D) expenditure in Australia, and this figure has been climbing over the past two decades (page 524).
See the full report at:
AIHW 2012.
Australia's health 2012. Australia's health no. 13. Cat. no. AUS 156. Canberra:
AIHW.
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Telehealth making a move
The Telehealth Centre at the PA Hospital is close to being opened. Staff at the PACE/PAH Health Sciences Libraries had a visit from Associate Professor Anthony Smith, Centre for Online Health in April this year. He gave us a presentation on the Online Health Centre which is now located in a third of the existing PA Hospital Library space.
The Centre for Online Health is a joint venture between the PA Hospital and the UQ Centre for Online Health - Richard Ashby has been quoted as saying it is to be the "best in the world".
Paediatric telemedicine has been operating for the last 10 years at the Royal Childrens Hospital - more than 15,000 consultations have occurred.
The new adult service based at PA Hospital will offer telehealth in five clinical groups - Endocrinology/Diabetes, Dermatology, Geriatrics and Psychiatry.
There is now Medicare funding for telehealth consultations which will drive the uptake of the service. A Melbourne GP has created a free website designed to connect doctors via Skype - it is available at consultonline.com.au
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Access to John Murtagh's General Practice online to cease in June
The publisher is withdrawing online access to John Murtagh's general practice resource from 12th June 2012.
Access to the hard copy books is available via this link for the 5th edition and this link for the 4th edition.
Access to various chapters have been made available via the Library course reserve for MEDI3005.
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Australian GPs will be able to access patient's prescription histories from July
From July this year, GPs will be able to access a patient's entire prescription history during a consultation. Real time reporting software called DORA, is being piloted in Tasmania. The software has the capacity to be integrated with existing medical software programs and has been licensed to the Commonwealth who will fund the rollout to all prescribers.
Read more here.
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Draft DSM-5
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder PMDD is mooted to be included as a as a genuine psychiatric condition in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM - 5). For more information about this and the other controversial proposals, read about it here.
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Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association (AHHA)
The Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association (AHHA) is the peak
body which has represented the public health care sector for more than 60
years.
This is the only Association independently representing and supporting the
public healthcare sector across all jurisdictions. AHHA's primary role is to
uphold and improve Australia's healthcare sector. Visit their site for the latest news and events throughout the
country.
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Comments
Access to John Murtagh's General Practice online to cease in Jun
As a medical student, this is one of my most-used textbooks. Although I own a hard-copy of an earlier edition, I use the online version a lot more as A) it is searchable and B) it is a lot easier to access.
If the publisher wishes to withdraw access to the online edition, then I suggest that you also make the text available not to just 3rd years, but also to every other year as it is an invaluable resource, and not for just General Practice!
Yes, this is a real shame,
Yes, this is a real shame, especially since the publishers are selling the ebook for $280 (http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.au/html/9781743070604.html) which is asking way too much from medical students..