General Health

Penalties for drug companies who fail to report shortages, now made law

Drug manufacturers who fail to report their inability to supply important medications to the Australian market will now face legal penalties – fines of up to $210,000 per infringement – with the passing of one of the first pieces of legislation under the new Morrison Government. Minister for Health, Greg Hunt MP, made the announcement […]

Feel a cold coming on? Don’t worry, be happy!

Will there soon be a day when health care providers prescribe a good laugh and a walk on the beach instead of pills and potions to treat common illnesses? While it seems fanciful, there’s a mounting body of evidence that suggests the state of our physical health may have more to do with our attitude […]

New Code brings greater transparency to doctor-pharma relationships

Medicines Australia (MA) has announced that from 1 October this year, it’s members will be required to report payments made by companies to health care professionals for the provision of services; a move that’s been welcomed by integrative health professionals on the Gold Coast. The new Code has been developed after a two-year consultation period […]

Could locally compounded orphan drugs be the solution for families struggling with high costs of medicines?

Gold Coast specialist pharmacist, Matthew Bellgrove is calling on the government to consider modern compounding as part of the solution to the escalating cost of orphan drugs used to treat rare diseases. Mr Bellgrove said taking a fresh new look at the services provided by the Australia’s modern compounding sector could result in significant savings […]

How a compounding pharmacist can help your patients adhere to their medical plan

The compounding pharmacy sector could play a more important role in increasing adherence to treatments for chronic diseases, by providing a niche solution to one of the key obstacles to adherence identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO). In their report, ‘Adherence to Long-Term therapies – Evidence for Action’, the organisation claims that strategies to […]

Get your phone to run your medical errands for you

Our modern mobile phones can perform a dizzying array of tasks that used to chew up so much of our time in the days before everyone had one. We can now transfer money and pay bills in a matter of seconds, instead of losing a lunch hour queuing at the bank. We can go shopping […]

Diets high in refined pasta and white rice linked to early menopause

A new study from the UK has found that a diet high in refined pasta and rice was associated with women getting menopause at a younger age, while a high intake of fresh legumes and oily fish was associated with a later onset of menopause. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of Leeds […]

Top 5 ways to manage allergic conjunctivitis

Spring is just around the corner and with it comes the pollen! This means a lot more to people who suffer from allergic conjunctivitis than those lucky souls whose eyes remain clear and itch-free all year round. Sufferers of allergic conjunctivitis often resign themselves to the fact that every Spring, and on particularly windy days […]

Top 5 signs you’re not getting enough Vitamin D

In a sunburnt country like Australia it’s surprising to learn that Vitamin D deficiency still occurs in our community. Most people know that exposure to sunlight triggers our body to produce Vitamin D, and sunlight is one thing we have in abundance in our wide brown land. However a recent article in South Australia’s The […]

What is an integrative doctor?

For a long time there was a perceived divide between modern or ‘western’ medicine and complementary or ‘alternative’ medicine. Both medical schools of thought trace their roots back to plant-based healing used in pre-Victorian societies, however the key difference between the two lies in the process behind the decision-making that informs their methods. Some might […]

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