Category: Health

In 1974, the Whitlam Government decided to exclude dental care from Medicare for two reasons.  The first was cost. The second was political in that Gough Whitlam felt that combatting the doctors would be hard enough without having to combat dentists as well.

Forty-four years later, with Australia much richer and the proven success of Medicare, it is now time for dental care to be progressively included in Medicare. (more…)

Few challenges are a greater threat to the health of Australians than obesity. Weight gain has now become the norm—the biological and social path of least resistance. Within a decade and without significant government intervention, more Australians are expected to be obese than normal weight.  Opportunities to stem the tide of obesity do exist – we have the evidence and largely we know what to do. Here is an evidence-based five-point policy plan, a lifeSPANS approach, that focuses on our kids to move the health agenda forward. (more…)

Every day we hear stories about innovation in health care – new drugs, new machines and new tests that will help us live longer. We have got used to thinking that any improvements in health care will come at a price – often a big one, given the years of development and testing needed to bring the innovation to market. (more…)

The noisy public debate about patients’ out-of-pocket costs and their consequences reaches a crescendo when it comes to oral health and dental care. (more…)

Variation in rates of obstetric intervention, including caesarean section, were recently cited by the Grattan Institute’s Dr Stephen Duckett when suggesting that a new Code of Conduct for doctors should include a focus on over-intervention.

In the article below, Emeritus Professor Lesley Barclay AO, Professor Hannah Dahlen and Dr Nigel Lee argue that concerted efforts to reduce caesarean section rates in Australia would bring benefits for women, babies and those who fund health services. (more…)

Treating personal drug use as an administrative offence along the lines of a parking violation has worked well for Portugal. It has not only been a public health and public policy success but also a political one. (more…)

Australia’s drug policy regime is ruining people’s lives and causing more misery and cost than it saves.  A new approach is needed, one that is evidence based and recognises the personal, social and economic benefits of policies other than mere prohibition and law enforcement.  With good leadership and open-minded public debate, we can do better. (more…)

Current drug policy is based on the unrealistic belief that we can stamp out possession and use of illicit drugs, much like prohibition of alcohol in 1920s America.  It also fails to account for the harm caused by our strictly punitive policy approach. (more…)

This is mostly a personal story, about my son Damien, who died from heroin use in 1997, at the age of 23.  I feel sure that his death could have been avoided if we had at the time an approach to drug use that was based on harm prevention rather than punishment. (more…)

Every day people are imprisoned for drug-related crimes in line with ‘tough on drugs’ policies. It’s time to face the futility and unsustainability of this approach to drug use.   (more…)

Australian prisons are severely overcrowded. Much crime is drug related. Some 75% of prisoners have a substance abuse problem. The majority of prisoners are not rehabilitated by their prison experience as evidenced by high recidivism rates, particularly for First Nation people. A holistic, whole of community response is required founded in restorative justice and justice reinvestment. (more…)

We are finally seeing in Australia the first signs of a recognition by government of the important public health benefits of sanctioned pill testing programs.  Law enforcement alone will never overcome the problems that can arise from drug use. Much like needle and syringe programs, pill testing is a real-world response which is evidence based and rightly treats harm reduction as one of the primary objectives of drug policy.

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In the final analysis, drug policy based on prohibition fails to meet the test of fairness and justice in the lives of those most directly affected. (more…)

A careful assessment of our policy towards currently illegal drugs and our struggle with the trade in these drugs brings forth a somber but frank conclusion about the war on drugs.  It should stop.

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Policy on illicit drugs should be developed on the basis that supply can never be cut off. Production is like a balloon: squeeze it in one place, but it will only bulge out elsewhere. This applies all the way to the consumer. There is no pricking this balloon under the present prohibition regime. While we naturally focus on harm suffered in Australia, we should not lose sight of the harm which international policies cause in countries from which we source the illicit drugs consumed here. (more…)

The failure and futility of drug prohibition has been well accepted among political elites in Australia for a long time. It is time we debated the merits of regulation, combined with targeted health and social intervention, rather than blunt prohibition and punishment.  Such an approach is likely to be more effective, and fair. (more…)

At 160 prisoners per 100,000 of population, Australia’s prison rate in 2016 was more than 3 times the rate of the 1940s and 1950s.  The steep increase correlates with an increasingly repressive drug policy and the closure of mental health institutions.

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Australia has some unhappy laws which result in people using illicit drugs being severely punished. When thinking about this, one should recall laws used half a century ago to criminalise Aboriginal people who drank alcohol. (more…)

“What should I tell people about your son’s death”, asked our Minister. He was there to discuss arrangements for our son’s funeral. In my overwhelming grief it hadn’t crossed my mind, but now it immediately struck me.  Our son had died from a heroin overdose. He is now tainted with shame. We, his mum and dad will also be made to feel the shame.  Not something I ever thought my family would have to cope with. What should we do?  How should we handle this?  I need not have stressed because in an instant my husband replied in a sure but shaky voice: “Tell the truth”. (more…)

Policies around drug decriminalisation should be evidence based, recognise the need for a nuanced rather than fundamentalist approach and take account of the advances made in the field of harm reduction, not just law enforcement.  Reform measures should be premised on a mix of rights, health and community safety principles and reflect the views of a broad cross-section of society. (more…)

The War on Drugs has failed.  Not only has it failed to stem the use of illicit drugs but it has also given rise to a host of other issues, including increased crime and corruption and a higher rate of disease and death from the use of such drugs.  Reform is long overdue, including a review of alternatives to blunt prohibition.  We can learn a lot from overseas experience. (more…)

The Federal Government has finally realised that there are major problems with its implementation of the My Health Record. (more…)

Too often the issue of abortion is couched in terms of women’s rights only – “It’s my body. It’s my choice – back off!”  (more…)

Ruth Armstrong writes:

After years of relative obscurity and sluggish engagement, Australia’s attempt at transitioning the population to the use of individual digital health records via My Health Record was all anyone could talk about yesterday. (more…)

Humour touching on mental health is a delicate undertaking that can either enhance or destroy the dignity of those living with mental illness. (more…)