Medica - Australian Healthcare News and Information

A trauma surgeon from Victoria, is suing The Alfred hospital for damages after he was suspended for alleged misconduct. 17 December 2007

New South Wales health authorities have issued a plea for people to avoid using swimming pools if they are recovering from attacks of diarrhoea because of a spike in crypto-sporidiosis cases. 17 December 2007

Research shows that the number of cancer deaths in New South Wales has fallen for the second consecutive year. 17 December 2007

A study of more than six thousand Australian students supports comprehensive labeling for beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages. 17 December 2007

A nasal spray, designed to stop children wetting the bed, is under review by Australian authorities after the United States FDA linked it with seizures and death. 17 December 2007

A new report shows that hundreds of ADHD patients are dispensed more medication than they need, with some patients receiving up to 11 extra bottles a year. 17 December 2007

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has advised, that Doctors should not prescribe and Pharmacists should not dispense more than a single pack of Stilnox (zolpidem) at one time. The advice comes as the medicines regulator announces extra warnings to be stamped on the Product Information and Consumer Medicine Information documents after hundreds of adverse reactions to the medication have been reported. These including driving, having sex, fighting and binge eating from the fridge while apparently asleep.12 December 2007

More than one thousand sick or injured people walk out of emergency departments each week in Victorian hospitals before they are treated. 12 December 2007

United States and German researchers have developed a new measure for cardiovascular risk called the Omega-3-Index which will identify those most likely to suffer a heart attack. 6 December 2007

The International Agency for Research on Cancer will classify shift work as a ‘probable’ carcinogen. It was once scientific heresy to suggest that smoking contributed to lung cancer. Now, another idea, initially dismissed, is gaining acceptance - that shift work might increase your cancer risk. The findings will put shift work in the same category as cancer-causing agents like anabolic steroids, ultraviolet radiation, and diesel engine exhaust. 12 December 2007

A new report shows record numbers of women in Britain are dying during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth, with maternal deaths at their highest levels in twenty years. 10 December 2007

Dr Rosanna Capolingua, President of the Australian Medical Association, urges the new Government to bring forward its promised review of the Northern Territory Indigenous initiative. They want the Government to extend the successful health programs nationally so they benefit all Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders. 10 December 2007

Drug and alcohol organizations say that pregnant women must be warned of the risk of causing irreversible brain damage to their unborn children by drinking. 12 December 2007