Australia’s eight leading universities have joined to produce a document impressive in scope and detail to provide a guide out of our crisis. It’s COVID-19 Roadmap to Recovery. A Report for the Nation . The report describes the medical and health options in depth and the myriad health, social and...

The rush of developments in health care triggered by COVID-19 is opening up significant changes in the health workforce which could bode well for health consumers not only now but in a post-COVID world. The accelerating demand for urgent health services, doctors, nurses and paramedics is imposing...

In a few short weeks, Australians’ response to COVID-19 has ramped up significantly. We have moved from messages that told the community to continue life as normal to declaring states of emergency, closing borders, travel bans and lockdowns. These measures were introduced after too many people...

The recent letter sent to GPs warning against co-billing Medicare for physical and mental health issues is as concerning for health consumers as it is for doctors. We expect Medicare funding to be used appropriately to deliver high-value care and for waste to be avoided, but the treatment of...

Jan Donovan The risks and costs of overdiagnosis pose an important and complex issue for health consumers in Australia and many other countries. An international conference on Preventing Overdiagnosis held in Sydney recently shone light on the varied issues raised by overdiagnosis that demand...

The consequences of the terrible bushfires which have swept Australia in recent days bring together two systemic challenges impacting on life as we know it: climate change and an outmoded health system. The fires make increasingly urgent the need for remastered health and environment approaches...

Consumers as leaders in healthcare will be the central theme of the inaugural Australasian Shifting Gears conference hosted by the Consumers Health Forum in September 2020. The health system is “shifting gears” with consumers demanding and acquiring a greater say in health – their own and society’s...