Health Report

Should weight loss injections be easier to access? 

After failing to negotiate a way for their weight loss medicine to be listed on the PBS, Eli Lilly has launched an online platform to "facilitate dispensing and delivery

Is AHPRA doing enough to curb unsafe prescribing?

Rachel has lived experience of an eating disorder and came across ads for a telehealth weight loss company on a podcast. The ads continue in their podcast feed, more than

Why you should speed up your steps, even just in short bursts.

A study looking at step intensity and step count provides helpful advice for those who are limited in their time and ability to increase the number of steps and their pac

Validation for people living with chronic pain

An international study of the genes of 2.5 million people confirms fibromyalgia as a nervous system disorder. A rheumatologist explains the relationship to other disorder

Same work but no training pathway for unaccredited registrars

It's become harder for medical students to qualify as a fully accredited specialist. This delay is having a profound impact on the wellbeing of doctors and on access to s

Will this help more men get prostate checkups?

New clinical guidelines for early detection of prostate cancer make big changes to screening, with an end to the digital examination and more frequent PSA tests in older

BMI fails the test as a predictor of disease risk

A study shows waist to hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference (WC) should be included with BMI when assessing patients with abdominal fat for risk of cardiovascular dise

Kate has a history of anorexia. Why was she prescribed weight loss jabs?

‘Kate’ has a history of anorexia nervosa and was once hospitalised for the condition. Yet she was able to access GLP1s to control her weight via a telehealth provider, wi

An Alzheimer's blood test is on the way. What could that mean for you?

Clinicians, researchers, government and industry partners have come together in a new arrangement to trial a blood test that uses biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease, in t

When is a child ready for their own smartphone?

A new study looks at the health benefits of holding off on a child's smartphone by one year. Is there a "best" age to let them have their own device? Despite the lack of

What can you really learn from a biological ageing test?

There's a race going on in Silicon Valley to find ways to slow down ageing and monetise longevity. Some of the tools used to measure this are biological age tests that gi

Who should be allowed to prescribe medications?

A review of the evidence for community pharmacist prescribing has reopened the debate about who should be able to prescribe, and a legislative change means some registere

Could a sleep supplement help reduce chronic pain?

While looking for ways to treat pain in those with musculoskeletal disorders, researchers examined studies in which sleep supplement melatonin had been used.  A study in

Should we ban the use of controversial herbicide, paraquat?

A movement disorder specialist says the APVMA decision on the use of herbicide paraquat ignores evidence of the link with cases of Parkinson's disease. Analysis of patie

Bird flu has reached Australia. Now what?

The first cases of H5N1 bird flu have been confirmed following the discovery and rescue of a sick bird on a remote beach in Western Australia. Since then more sick birds

Good and bad news on alcohol and disease risk

A new review brings together data from studies worldwide and shows that the impact of alcohol has been underestimated, but that changing drinking habits can reverse and s

A crackdown on unregulated peptides

Genomic testing is cheaper than ever and can pick up a risk of disease in people with no family history. Should we expand it nation-wide? IUDs are a highly effective for

Does exercise lower your biological age?

Australia's specialist medical college for obstetrics and gynaecology is raising the alarm over proposed changes to abortion access in three Australian states. How physi

The habits that protect your mental health

This week, an update on the diphtheria outbreak across multiple Australian states. What's changed to allow the spread to occur? How to build healthier housing for remote

Peptides: who's using them and what's in them?

The popularity of peptides appears to be growing in Australia - what do we know about who is using them, what's in them and the risks? A large study of Australians with