Health professionals are also the victims when pushed beyond their scope of practice
Do you sometimes imagine that you are trapped in a submarine, in the darkest depths of the ocean, under the pressure of tons of seawater? …
Medical Observer
Unique doctor-written opinion and analysis
Is Ozempic the new ‘miracle drug’ for patients with osteoarthritis-related knee pain?
The drug semaglutide, commonly known by the brand names Ozempic or Wegovy, was originally developed to help people with type 2 diabetes manage their blood…
Help! How do I repair my scorched relationship with my son-in-law and remedy his PTSD?
I need my readers to help me with some advice about how to make amends for an incident that occurred in 2007. It happened on the…
An anti-vax conspiracy theorist could become Trump’s health tsar — what it means for Aussie doctors
I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual congress of the US Center for Inquiry – an organisation promoting science and reason, and countering…
When patients stroke our ego, do we end up treating them or serving ourselves?
We all have rusted-on patients, and our interactions with them differ depending on that complex flux between what they think they want and what we…
We should not allow private insurers to fund GP consultations
Australia’s second-largest private health insurer, Bupa, has recently started offering its members three free GP telehealth consultations a year. This follows other insurers, such as nib, offering…
The AMA is wrong — the medical board must make cognitive screening of older doctors mandatory
I am a middle-aged GP. As such, I have a while to go before I am likely to be subject to the mandatory health check…
General practice is crying out for a social media hero
You do not have to do an opinion poll to know that people have no idea what we do. If you asked the general public,…
‘Don’t tell them I told you’: How to deal with unsolicited patient information from third parties
“Dad’s actually an alcoholic. He shouldn’t be on the road. But he never tells you this stuff. He just says he’s great. Make sure you…
Are doctors’ rego and indemnity fees really an extortionate rip-off?
AusDoc recently published the results of a survey designed to determine the annual running costs of being a doctor. That is, the up-front, out-of-pocket expenses,…
