Hola – I am back on deck. A large thanks to Jennifer Doggett for driving Croakey while I was away, and to Ben Harris-Roxas for looking after the Twitter feed.
As previously mentioned, Croakey readers are welcome to sign up for (rather irregular) summaries of posts. If you’d like to join the mailing list, please send your email or leave it below.
Here is the latest compilation, covering from 12 July – September 30.
The links below have been grouped into these categories:
• Equity-related issues
• Public health
• Rural health
• Indigenous health
• Mental health
• Pharmaceuticals, complementary medicines and related issues
• Health policy
• Health reform
• Aged care reform
• Disability reform
• Media-related issues
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EQUITY-RELATED ISSUES
Some suggestions for how to achieve a fairer distribution of health
Fran Baum and Matt Fisher
How children are bearing the cost of increasing prisoner numbers
Helen Wiseman and Gloria Larman
Bringing urban design into the health debate
Peter Sainsbury, Elizabeth Harris, and Marilyn Wise
The health issues that really matter
Frank Brennan and others
Public health leaders come out in support of reforms to “inequitable” private health insurance rebate
Helen Keleher, Peter Sainsbury, Stephen Leeder, Fran Baum, and Michael Moore
The private health insurance rebate: why some are fans, and others are not
Helen Keleher, Peter Sainsbury, Stephen Leeder, Fran Baum and Michael Moore
Ian McAuley
Helping people who are depressed to quit smoking, and tackling social disadvantage
Rebecca Gordon
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PUBLIC HEALTH
Announcing the Croakey Register of Influencers in Public Health (CRIPH) – and a call for helpers
Announcing plans for a course on telling the stories of public and population health
Penny Hawe
A new guide to effective risk communication, one of the “greatest challenges” in public health
A legacy of swine flu: guidelines for public health officials & journalists dealing with epidemics
Global shift in disease patterns requires aid rethink
Rob Moodie
Tackling unhealthy environments: locally and globally
Margaret Beavis and others
An investigation to watch: how to better integrate primary care and public health
Who’s Who at the National Preventive Health Agency
Melissa Sweet
Do medical students know enough about public health?
Mavis Duncanson
Tackling the health issues left in the “too hard” basket: what can we learn from the US?
Margo Saunders
New trade agreement threatens Australia’s laws on medicines and tobacco
Patricia Ranald
Communicating the science on climate change
David King
Action on climate change may also help our obesity problem
Melanie Lowe
Getting to the root causes of health problems: some local and international perspectives
Richard Di Natale
The backlash to alcohol industry’s move on labelling
Sarah Jaggard
Patients have a poor understanding of the causes of cancer
Freddy Sitas
A cautionary note about raising public awareness around ovarian cancer
Marian Pitts
The official diet of Australian sport: it’s a shocker
Mike Daube
Are cars the new tobacco? One of the elephants of public health…
Adrian Bauman
Look to the successes in tobacco control, and get us moving
Rona Macniven
What makes the Heart Foundation tick?
Jennifer Doggett
Making sense of the bicycle helmets stoush
Daniel Vujcich
The glycemic index has passed its use-by date (Crikey story)
David Gillespie
After the riots, what are the lessons, from a public health perspective?
John Fitzgerald
Digital inclusion is an important health issue
Don Perlgut
A creative approach to engaging young people in discussions about organ donation
Kerrie Noonan and Peta Murray
***
RURAL HEALTH
Time to Act – How many quad bike deaths will manufacturers allow?
Tony Lower
New leader for peak rural health body
Jennifer Doggett
Some interesting insights into rural health matters
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INDIGENOUS HEALTH
A Who’s Who when it comes to advising the Federal Government on Indigenous health
Some in-depth reading on Indigenous policy, plus some useful insights into health “policy windows” and effective advocacy
John Wakerman
Citizen journalism as an Indigenous health intervention?
A new resource for researchers working in Indigenous health
Alison Laycock and Diane Walker
A landmark event for improving Indigenous eye health
Don Perlgut
***
MENTAL HEALTH
Building a national mental health system
Pat McGorry
The Proposed NSW Mental Health Commission: opportunities for the cunning health bureaucrat
“Enrico Brik”
How can technology be harnessed to help young people & “mental wealth”?
Jane Burns
Mental health funding protests are missing the bigger picture of equity concerns
Tim Woodruff
***
PHARMACEUTICALS, COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINES AND RELATED ISSUES
Affordability and access to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
Rebecca de Boer
The universality of the PBS is being eroded – a new study warns
Jennifer Doggett
Here’s an alternative to the pharmaceutical patents rip-off
Philip Soos
Time for Pharma industry to commit to doctor payment disclosures
Deborah Waterhouse
Medicines Australia responds…
Brendan Shaw
Some ideas for improving the quality of health and medicinal information
Rosemary Clerehan and Rachelle Buchbinder
Challenges ahead for the new joint NZ Australia therapeutics agency
Rebecca de Boer
Frustrated by TGA? Take a (herbal) chill pill
Michael Vagg
Some reaction to the transparency review of the TGA
Ken Harvey
TGA facing a shake-up (maybe), in the quest for greater transparency
Pharmacies to push supplements as ‘fries and Coke’ to prescriptions
Ken Harvey
Nothing complementary about Pharmacy Guild’s corporate deal
Jennifer Doggett
Upsizing prescriptions – has the Guild gone too far?
Andrew Podger
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HEALTH POLICY
The role of doctors in health services planning and management
“Enrico Brik”
Do incentives give you the PIP?
Peter Sivey
Growing drug resistance a national concern, new Chief Medical Officer says
Chris Baggoley
Should the public purse fund a procedure that “the best available evidence does not support”?
Rachelle Buchbinder
Evidence into policy: what works?
Sally Redman
What WAS Bronwyn Bishop smoking? (reporting from the inquiry into political donations)
Anne Jones
Young people STILL in nursing homes
Di Winkler
Your chance to ask some pointed questions about primary health care
Chiropractors moving in on GPs’ turf (Crikey story)
Loretta Marron
Concerns raised about lack of regulation of the health workforce
Jon Wardle
***
HEALTH REFORM, COAG AGREEMENT
Health Reform Implementation Plan
Office of Nicola Roxon
Bye Bye NSW Health Department, hello Ministry
Reforms don’t tackle the real drivers of health care costs
Philip Davies
The hospital reform deal merits congratulations
Bob Wells
The health reform deal: what does it really mean?
Anne-marie Boxall
Health reform: how to get less of what may not be best for us (Crikey story)
Melissa Sweet
Some detail from the latest health reform agreement
Is this “cappuccino-style” health reform? Marking an anniversary…
Philip Davies
So much more is needed
Bob Wells
Health reform: it’s incremental and a work-in-progress
Mark Harris, John Wakerman, Stephen Leeder, Gawaine Powell Davies, Ian Olver, Geoff Couser, Sally Crossing
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AGED CARE REFORM
Aged care reform: the time is right
Hal Kendig
Caring for older Australians: one family’s journey highlights the need for culturally appropriate care
Jenny Taing
Pressure for aged care reform will continue
Rebecca de Boer
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DISABILITY REFORM
Disability reforms are an advance for health
Rhonda Galbally
Why an overhaul of disability care is needed: the Productivity Commission
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RESEARCH
Research suggests new avenues for beating dengue fever
Linda Marsa
Advanced Health Research Centres – what can they offer Australia?
NHMRC
Fingers crossed: the role of randomness in medical research funding
The latest analysis of health news – we hear too much about early research
Amanda Wilson
***
MEDIA-RELATED ISSUES
Burnt by a newspaper story, this child health expert fights back and shares some lessons
Cathrine Fowler
A mega-wrap of the news about health, journalism and related innovations
Melissa Sweet
Some new news on public health and the media
Craig Butt
Media Doctor Australia reflects on an “amazing” journey into the Twittersphere
Justine Smith and Amanda Wilson
Hospitals may be dragging the chain on social media but here’s how one senior exec became a convert
John Ballard
How primary health care can harness the digital revolution
Melissa Sweet
Some reflections on social media and primary health care
Natasha Pavlin, Pippa Burns, Pam Harnden
Collaborating to promote new approaches to pain management
Scott White
Health and medical news from The Conversation
Part One
Part Two
Reema Rattan, Froncesca Jackson-Webb
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And the latest Croakey readership stats are posted.
Welcome back
Thank you very much! If you’ve any ideas for posts, let me know…