Volume 200 Issue 6

The full content of this article is available by downloading the PDF.

Pain medicine needs to be clear about what can and cannot be achieved

Michael A Ashby MD, FRACP, FFPMANZCA

Refining our approach to immunisation can further improve disease prevention

Peter B McIntyre PhD, FRACP, FAFPHM · Terence M Nolan PhD, FRACP, FAFPHM

The full content of this article is available by downloading the PDF.

The full content of this article is available by downloading the PDF.

Better facility-based outcomes for mothers and newborns are within reach

Myrto M Schaefer MD, MSc · Alexandra L Brown BA

In an era of active health reform, what might we expect from the new Australian Government?

Christine C Bennett AO, MB BS, MPaed, FRACP

Natural therapies may be neither natural nor therapeutic

Natalie C Ong · Eric Sham · Brandon M Adams

Government should take the lead in trialling and evaluating new strategies for tackling disease prevention

Roger S Magnusson

Government should take the lead in trialling and evaluating new strategies for tackling disease prevention

Jane M Young · David Currow · Sally Dunlop

Arguments drawing attention to this serious problem must be backed up by the most current and accurate evidence

Richard A Lemen · Arthur L Frank · Colin L Soskolne · Stanley H Weiss · Barry I Castleman

Arguments drawing attention to this serious problem must be backed up by the most current and accurate evidence

Anthony R Johnson · Deborah H Yates

Supportive evidence for routine use of this simple infection prevention measure

Michael J Loftus · Cosmin J Florescu · Rhonda L Stuart

The key to accessible and comprehensive aged care is to base general practices in aged care facilities

Ian Maddocks

Media reports suggest alarming contrast between care available to asylum seekers and that available to Australian nationals

Nigel R Armfield · Anthony C Smith

Why can television broadcast dubious scientific material without disclosing the experts’ conflicts of interest?

Daniel D L Bernal · Luke R E Bereznicki · Gregory M Peterson

Older patients are showing improved hospital survival without longer stays and with most returning home

Graeme J Duke MD, FCICM, FANZCA · Anna Barker MPthy(Geriatrics), PhD · Cameron I Knott FRACP, FCICM · John D Santamaria MD, FRACP, FCICM

MDR-TB remains uncommon in WA, but the challenges associated with managing it are being increasingly recognised

Joshua R Francis BAppSc(MedSc), MB BS, FRACP · Christopher C Blyth MB BS, FRACP, FRCPA · Sarah Colby MB BS · Joanna M Fagan MPH · Justin Waring MB BS, FRACP

Good protection is provided within the first 4 years, but wanes thereafter

Sarah L Sheridan BMed, MPH, MAppEpid · Bradley J McCall MB BS, MPH, FAFPHM · Craig A Davis MAppEpi, MAppSc, BA · Jennifer M B Robson FRACP, FRCPA · Brynley P Hull BSc(Hons), MPH · Christine E Selvey MB BS, MSc · Robert S Ware PhD · Keith Grimwood MB ChB, FRACP, MD · Stephen B Lambert MB BS, FAFPHM, PhD

Small drops in the salt content of fast foods are encouraging, but more action is needed

Julianne Garcia MPH · Elizabeth K Dunford PhD · Johan Sundstrom PhD · Bruce C Neal MB ChB, MRCP, PhD

Avoiding adverse outcomes through accurate and timely communication

Erica Y Tong BPharm(Hons), MClinPharm · Melanie Kowalski BPharm · Gary S Yip MB BS, FRACP · Michael J Dooley BPharm, GradDipHospPharm, PhD

How should we treat patients who may lack the capacity to decide in their own best interests?

Peter A Roberts MB BS, FACEM

How should we treat patients who may lack the capacity to decide in their own best interests?

Joanne F Bradbury BNat(Hons), BA(Psych), PhD · Matt Ireland BA(Psych)(Hons) · Helen Stasa BA(Hons), PhD

How should we treat patients who may lack the capacity to decide in their own best interests?

Kerri Eagle LLB(Hons), LLM, FRANZCP · Christopher J Ryan MB BS, MHL, FRANZCP

Doctors have an obligation to actively lead when the environment’s health is a vital community issue

John B Best AO, MD BS, PhD, DSc(Hon)

Charles (Charlie) Akkermans was born in Munich, Germany, on 23 July 1935. He attended the University of Western Australia for his first year of medicine, and completed his studies at the University of Adelaide, residing at Aquinas College and graduating in 1958. In 1959, he undertook his internship at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide and, in 1960, was a medical officer at the Repatriation General Hospital ...

Johanna Akkermans

Because the body is vocal as it nears the end with its querulous list of aches and pains that makes relatives squeamish. Because the body doesn’t care; everything grumbles and complains. The ground has become perilous. Because our bowels are slow, the bladder stings and the body is a mulish obstinate thing, whose hipbones jut out beneath flaps of skin. Because our log-jammed senses no longer grasp the ...

Lisa Jacobson

This Enlightening, Alarming and depressing book deserves a wide readership among doctors but also among politicians, health administrators, and drug and medical device regulators. While there is no shortage of books that have sought to expose the misconduct of the pharmaceutical industry (one thinks of the books of Braithwaite, Kassirer, Angell, Moynihan and Goldacre), I finished this book with the feeling that things are getting ...

Kerry J Breen

CorrectionError in author name: In “Guillain-Barré syndrome following pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza A immunisation in Victoria: a self-controlled case series” in the 19 November 2012 issue of the Journal (Med J Aust 2012; 197: 574-578), an author’s name was incorrectly spelled. The correct spelling of the ninth author’s name is Richard Macdonell.

Nigel W Crawford MB BS, MPH, PhD · Allen Cheng MPH, PhD, FRACP · Nick Andrews MSc · Patrick G Charles MB BS, PhD, FRACP · Hazel J Clothier MAppEpid, MscID, FIBMS · Bruce Day MB BS · Timothy Day MB BS · Peter Gates MB BS · Richard Macdonell MB BS · Les Roberts MB BS · Victoria Rodriguez-Casero MB BS · Tissa Wijeratne MB BS · Lynette Kiers MB BS

Private equity and venture capital have carved a small but significant niche in the finances of Australia’s health care industry. How are these private funders influencing practice?

Annabel McGilvray

Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+, 4Square, LinkedIn, Reddit, blog, vlog, Vine and Web 2.0 — these are terms which roll off the tongues of geeks and nerds, but for many doctors they are a foreign language

Cate Swannell