Health Information
A Program of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons The Australian Safety and Efficacy Register of New Interventional Procedures – Surgical (ASERNIP-S), which is a program of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, assesses the safety and effectiveness of new surgeries and technologies. ASERNIP-S is a not-for-profit organisation which currently receives limited funding to undertake its own independent reviews. However, the website contains many informative reviews and consumer summaries written on a variety of topics…
21 September 2012 SA Health has issued a reminder not to touch any species of bat, following the first discovery of a flying fox with Australian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL) in South Australia. South Australia’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr Stephen Christley, said transmission of ABL from bats to humans is extremely rare but could cause serious illness. “ABL is frequently found in bats in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and has been assumed to…
By Holly Northam, Assistant Professor of Critical Care Nursing at University of Canberra, published in The Conversation Every year a number of grieving families will be asked to donate tissue following the death of a relative. The consequences of their decision have implications for patient’s awaiting transplantation, and the donor families. Tissue is donated to infants requiring cardiac surgery for survival; burns victims dependent on skin; children who face limb amputation due to bone cancer;…
By Michael Vagg, Clinical Senior Lecturer at Deakin University School of Medicine & Pain Specialist at Barwon Health, published in The Conversation Insomnia is far from a modern concept, with sleep remedies such as opioids, chamomile and valerian root recorded in the earliest existing medical writings. The word insomnia itself dates back to at least the 1620s. But since the latter part of the twentieth century our sleep woes have worsened. Increasing economic prosperity and…
SA Health 12 August 2012 SA Health is encouraging South Australians to enjoy the benefits of daily exercise with the launch of the new be active Walk Yourself Happy advertising campaign. Director of Health Promotion Michele Herriot said the campaign takes a fresh look at how people can incorporate regular, medium intensity exercise into everyday activities. “Walking is one of the best things you can do to lead a longer, healthier life,” Ms Herriot said…
SA Health is encouraging South Australians to think about ways to incorporate healthy eating and being active in their daily routine, with the launch of a new healthy lifestyle booklet. Director of Health Promotion Michele Herriot said Your Guide to a Healthier Today provides practical advice about the things people can do each day to make healthier choices. “Good nutrition and regular exercise have immediate positive effects, making it easier to live, learn, work and…
National Prescribing Service NPS: Better Choices, Better Health (NPS) has launched a new online knowledge hub to assist would-be travellers with detailed and up-to-date information about travel vaccines. The NPS knowledge hub includes specific details about all the vaccines available in Australia, including routine childhood vaccines, what diseases they protect against, who should have the vaccines and when, and the possible side effects. To access the new resource, visit here.
The Ask Share Know project wants to help people to get the information they need, to share in making medical decisions with health professionals. To do this, they suggest that people ask health professionals three key questions: What are my options? What are the possible benefits and harms of these options? How likely are each of these benefits and harms to happen to me? Short video clips are now available here to support consumers to…
With the serious impact of Meningococcal Disease, SA Health’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr Stephen Christley offers this advice: “While meningococcal disease is hard to catch, it can be a very serious illness with young adults one of the groups most affected, as tragically demonstrated in this case,” Dr Christley said. “Most people who develop meningococcal disease usually recover within 24 hours of receiving antibiotics. “However, meningococcal disease can cause serious and sometimes fatal conditions…
There’s no place for pseudo-scientific chiropractic in Australian universities John Dwyer writing in The Conversation says “I’m one of thirty-four doctors, scientists and clinical academics who, in an attempt to protect health-care consumers from the dangers associated with unscientific clinical practices, have today written to the science deans at Central Queensland University urging them, as fellow academics, to reconsider this decision to offer a Bachelor of Science degree (Chiropractic) from 2012. Modern chiropractic therapy is…
