The eyes have it

Millions of older people with poor vision are at risk of being misdiagnosed with mild cognitive impairments, according to a new study by the University of South Australia.

Australia’s dementia crisis

Half a million Australians have some form of dementia, and a million and a half more people are involved in their care, a figure expected to triple by 2050 as the population ages overall.

Reducing the risk of patient opioid addition

New national standards aim to control doctors’ prescribing habits of powerful and potentially addictive opioid drugs for hospital patients with pain when they’re discharged home.

Australia can step up as a vaccine manufacturer

Australia “could and should” set itself up to supply not only itself but the region with all future vaccine
and essential drug needs, according to the authors of a Perspective published by the Medical Journal of Australia.

First, do no harm

Three common surgeries have been found to be of little to no benefit, but thousands are still performed every year in Australia, enriching medical practitioners at the public’s – and patients’ – expense.

Ask your heart what it doth know

The recent deaths of high-profile Australians due to suspected heart attacks is a reminder for all of us to check our heart health, and reduce risk factors such as obesity, stress and smoking.

New tools for early autism detection

Australia has produced a world leading program in the early identification of autism from infancy to preschool in the shape of the Social Attention Communication Surveillance-Revised (SACS-R) and SACS-Preschool (SACS-PR) tools.

Virtual therapy?

Edith Cowan University research shows many people prefer to speak about negative personal experiences with an avatar, rather than a person, and prefer virtual therapy sessions to personal interaction.

It’s complicated

Around 1 in 10 stints in hospital also involve people developing a complication from the hospital treatment or procedure, but how often this occurs may have more to do with patients than the hospital itself, according to new Australian research.

The mystery of the missing medicines

Almost a fifth of medications supplied to medical and surgical wards, and emergency departments were not administered to patients according to research published by the Medical Journal of Australia.

Bedtime is the best time

Late night movies, gaming marathons and impromptu sleepovers may have featured over the holidays, but as we near a new school term, UniSA sleep experts say it’s time to settle kids back into a regular sleep routine.

Patient data can help prevent overdiagnosis

The increasing use of digital technologies in medical screening may lead to a rise in overdiagnosis that could be prevented by a new focus on patient data.