Article Types
Editorials
International treatment guidelines for anaemia in chronic kidney disease — what has changed?
New guidelines, from the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) group, emphasise balancing the risks and benefits of erythropoietin-stimulating agents and iron therapy.
Robert J MacGinley MB BS, FRACP · Rowan G Walker MD, FRACP, MPH
Partnership and leadership: key to improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
Creating effective collaboration takes time and requires building trust and demonstrating commitment. The Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association hopes that values will be evident in the new National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan that will guide governments and individual medical professionals in providing quality, culturally appropriate health care.
Tammy M Kimpton BMed
Improving the health of First Nations children in Australia
Closing the gap among First Nations children requires community involvement in service implementation, consistent monitoring of child health indicators, and a good understanding of how public policies affect children.
Sandra J Eades BMed, PhD · Fiona J Stanley MB BS, MSc, MD
Beyond cultural security; towards sanctuary
Using the concept of trauma-informed care to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families recover from stressful life events.
Helen M Milroy MB BS, FRANZCP, CATCAP
General practice patients in the emergency department
Contrary to common rhetoric, general practice-type patients do not significantly contribute to ED congestion or burden. And it is usually more appropriate for patients to seek immediate care in the ED rather than visit a general practitioner.
Gerard J FitzGerald MD, FACEM, FRACMA · Ghasem Toloo BA, MA, PhD
Planned homebirth in Australia
Assessing the outcomes of homebirths attended by qualified professionals within a well regulated environment is an important part of shedding light on this debate.
Marc J N C Keirse MD, DPhil, FRANZCOG
Challenges of transition to adult health services for patients with rare diseases
When children with rare chronic diseases grow up, it’s often a rocky pathway to adult care.
Yvonne A Zurynski BAppSc, MAppSc, PhD · Elizabeth J Elliott MD, MPhil, FRACP
Breathe deeply and say “ninety-nine”
As the Journal approaches its 100th birthday, it has a new Editor-in-Chief and much to look forward to
Stephen R Leeder MD, PhD, FRACP
Evidence-based medical workforce planning and education: the MSOD project
The longitudinal data from this medical graduate-tracking study is an increasingly valuable tool for matching training outcomes to national needs
Baldeep Kaur MIntStud · Don M Roberton MD, FRACP, FRCPA · Nicholas J Glasgow MBChB, MD, FRACGP
Prevention of peripheral intravenous catheter-related bloodstream infections: the need for a new focus
In view of the findings of a linked research article in this issue, clock watching should take a back seat to paying strict attention to insertion and maintenance practice to prevent IV catheter-related bloodstream infection
Claire M Rickard BN, GradDipN(CriticalCare), PhD · Joan Webster RN, RM, BA · E Geoffrey Playford MB BS(Hons), MMed(ClinEpi), PhD
Clinical staging for mental disorders: a new development in diagnostic practice in mental health
With the release of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, it is timely to consider whether a refinement to traditional diagnostic practice — clinical staging — will improve clinical care and inform future research into the causes of mental disorders.
Ian B Hickie MB BS, MD, FRANZCP · Jan Scott MB BS, MD, FRCPsych · Patrick D McGorry MD, PhD, FRANZCP
Suicide risk assessment: where are we now?
Comprehensive suicide risk assessment is usually suggested as a way of determining who, among patients presenting in psychological crisis, should be offered different or more intensive treatment. But is there really a magic combination of risk factors that makes it possible to predict who will suicide?
Christopher J Ryan MB BS, MHL, FRANZCP · Matthew M Large BSc(Med), MB BS, FRANZCP
Improved prognosis for borderline personality disorder
New guidelines from the National Health and Medical Research Council outline best-practice management for people with borderline personality disorder. With the use of effective evidence-based treatments, the prognosis for this disorder has improved for most patients.
Brin F S Grenyer BA(Hons), MSc, PhD
Public reporting of surgeons’ performance
To date, there have been no serious attempts in Australia to introduce public reporting of surgeon performance data. Some audits have shown local trends in surgical outcomes, but feedback from more comprehensive monitoring would benefit clinicians and patients.
Guy J Maddern MB BS, PhD, FRACS
Providing non-technical skills for surgeons
While medical and technical expertise are what might be described as core business for a surgical college, the question of who is to assume responsibility for teaching other, non-technical competencies remains. So far only the colleges have stepped forward, though often in tandem with other stakeholders.
Michael J Hollands MB BS, FRACS
Evidence-based policies for the control of influenza
Vaccination remains the single best option for controlling influenza, but it is important not to overstate the effectiveness of current inactivated vaccines.
Heath A Kelly MB BS, MPH · Nicholas Kelley PhD
Diet and nutrition: the folly of the reductionist approach
Recent evidence and new guidelines provide impetus to shop for whole foods rather than bad foods fortified with a few selected beneficial nutrients.
Rosemary A Stanton OAM, BSc, PhD(Hon), APD
Early success for Australia's bowel screening program: let's move it along
The early positive results of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program should provide encouragement to the government to accelerate its implementation
Ian N Olver MD, PhD, FRACP · Paul B Grogan
Improving coordination of care between specialist and general practice for people with chronic pain
Australia's National Pain Strategy describes three points in the current model of care where sufferers of chronic pain (defined as constant pain on a daily basis for 3 months or more in the past 6 months) encounter “fault lines” or disruptions in their treatment journey.1 The first of these is the prolonged cycle of tests, medicinal therapy and referrals that occurs in the community, delaying ...
Geoffrey K Mitchell MB BS, PhD, FRACGP
Is autism one or multiple disorders?
Tailoring interventions for the variable behaviours in individuals with autism ultimately depends on determining the neurobiological causes of these behaviours.
Andrew J O Whitehouse PhD · Fiona J Stanley MB BS, MSc, MD
Gram-negative resistance: can we combat the coming of a new “Red Plague”?
From the “Black Death” of bubonic plague to the “White Plague” of tuberculosis, infectious diseases have had devastating effects on unprepared human populations. What must we do to avoid a similar fate from the “Red Plague” of multiresistant gram-negative bacteria?
David F M Looke FRACP, FRCPA, MMedSci(ClinEpidemiol) · Thomas Gottlieb MB BS, FRACP, FRCPA · Cheryl A Jones MB BS, PhD, FRACP · David L Paterson MB BS, PhD, FRACP
Updated Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease infection control guidelines: sifting facts from fiction
New guidelines remind us that CJD is often on a list of differential diagnoses for neurological diseases, and that equity in access to medical care is important for people with CJD and their families.
Ann P Koehler MB BS, FRCPA, MPH · Eugene Athan MB BS, FRACP, MPH · Steven J Collins MB BS, MD, FRACP
Stroke care in Australia: why is it still the poor cousin of health care?
Despite improvements in stroke prevention and management, most patients in Australia do not have access to the latest evidence-based care.
Tammy C Hoffmann PhD, BOccThy(Hons) · Richard I Lindley MB BS, MD, FRACP
Neuroplasticity and pain: what does it all mean?
New knowledge about the ability of the nervous system to change its structure and function will help our understanding, assessment and management of pain.
Philip J Siddall MB BS, PhD, FFPMANZCA
Why e-health is so hard
The goals of e-health are worthy, and alternatives are thin on the ground. Success will depend on respecting the laws of informatics as well those of medical science and health care.
Enrico Coiera MB BS, PHD, FACHI