Govt-run locum agency will give taxpayers ‘bang for buck’, says State Health Minister
A government-run locum agency is coming “sooner rather than later”, says the NSW Minister for Health as he grapples with a $240 million annual bill…
Antony Scholefield
Antony is a medical reporter with a special interest in technology and pharmacy.
GP says he was told ‘nothing’ about Westfield killer’s possible psychotic symptoms
A GP says he had no information about potential signs of a psychotic relapse in his patient who ended up killing half a dozen people…
Joel Cauchi’s psychiatrist denies clinical failings but backflips on ‘hatred towards women’ claim
A psychiatrist has denied any clinical failings when weaning Joel Cauchi off antipsychotics years before he fatally stabbed six strangers, but she has retracted her…
1350 consults in first year of pharmacist prescribing in Queensland
Queensland pharmacists have conducted 1350 consultations for medical conditions such as shingles, impetigo and reflux in their first year of prescribing S4 medicines. By May…
Junior doctor reprimanded for accessing medical records of colleague
A junior doctor has been sanctioned for accessing the medical records of a female colleague after she asked him not to contact her. The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal…
Another former health minister takes Coalition leadership
Having once succeeded Peter Dutton as health minister, Sussan Ley has now succeeded her former boss as Liberal Party leader. The member for Farrer since…
RACGP updates guidance on chasing test results in anticipation of new My Health Record rule
Forcing pathology companies to send results to My Health Record will lead to more GPs being confronted with findings from tests they did not order,…
Campaign against changes to urine and B12 test rebates ‘dishonest’, says Mark Butler
Attacks on new Medicare items for vitamin B12 and urine tests are driven by “big pathology companies” and “pretty dishonest”, the Minister for Health and…
Drains in hospitals and homes ‘hotspots’ for MRSA
Microbiologists have found that 27% of home plumbing fixtures and 15% of hospital fixtures contain culturable pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus, of which half are…
‘I can’t make doctors do stuff’: Mark Butler insists GPs will choose to bulk-bill all patients
The Minister for Health and Aged Care has batted away GPs’ arguments that tripled bulk-billing incentives for all patients will not mean a wholesale shift…
