A recent Four Corners story ‘Pain Factory’ featured Prof Ian Harris and covered a Cochrane review by Adrian Traeger, Chris Maher and team. The program dealt with a range of factors central to Wiser Healthcare. More than three million Australians are living with chronic pain, [...]
Internationally, non-traumatic low back pain (LBP) is an increasingly common presentation to ambulance services. Consequently, paramedics are often the first providers of care for people with LBP. Australian guidelines for paramedic management of LBP recommend the use of simple analgesia, hot/cold therapy and for people [...]
July 2023 marked the hottest month on record, underscoring the urgent need for action on climate change. The imperative to reduce carbon emissions extends to all sectors, including health care, with it being responsible for 5.5% of global emissions. In decarbonizing health care, although much [...]
Opioids and imaging are considered low-value care for most people with low back pain. Yet around one in three people presenting to the emergency department (ED) will receive imaging, and two in three will receive an opioid. NUDG-ED aims to determine the effectiveness of two [...]
Health technology assessment (HTA) processes and decision making in Australia have significant implications for all Australians, determining what medicines, health technologies and services are subsidized by government. These processes are currently being considered for further reform. Decisions about which medicines, health technologies and services should [...]
Health care is a major contributor to climate change, and critical care is one of the sector’s highest carbon emitters. Health economic evaluations form an important component of critical care and may be useful in identifying economically efficient and environmentally sustainable strategies. The purpose of [...]
The growing number of Direct To Consumer (DTC) tests available for direct purchase online in Australia purport to empower consumers with choice and convenience of access. The categorisation of clinical utility developed in this study shows the majority of currently available products lack clear benefits [...]
Many of us have done countless rapid antigen tests (RATs) over the course of the pandemic. Testing ourselves at home has become second nature. But there’s also a growing worldwide market in medical tests sold online directly to the public. These are “direct-to-consumer” tests, and [...]
You order a computed tomography pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) for a patient with suspected pulmonary thromboembolism. The radiology report states that no pulmonary thromboembolism is seen but notes an unrelated lung nodule. What should you do with this incidental finding, or “incidentaloma”?
The VALID BP project was initiated to increase the availability of validated blood pressure measuring devices (BPMDs). The goal is to eliminate non validated BPMDs and minimise over- and underdiagnosis of hypertension caused by inaccurate readings. This study was undertaken to assess the potential return [...]