The Medical journal of Australia
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To describe professional discipline cases in Australia and New Zealand in which doctors were found guilty of professional misconduct, and to develop a typology for describing the misconduct. ⋯ Disciplinary cases in Australia and New Zealand have features distinct from those studied internationally. The recent nationalisation of Australia's medical boards offers new possibilities for tracking and analysing disciplinary cases to improve the safety and quality of health care.
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We report a case of compassionate use of a haemoglobin-based oxygen carrier in a severely injured Jehovah's Witness patient, for whom survival was considered unlikely. Severe anaemia and cardiac hypoxia were reversed after slow infusion of this agent. No vasoactive side effects were associated with the treatment, possibly due to the slow infusion, and the patient survived.
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To evaluate the effectiveness of redesigning and streamlining perioperative services. ⋯ Clinical process redesign of perioperative services and collocation of a separate elective surgery centre improved (i) timeliness of care for elective surgery patients and (ii) key indicators (LOS and HIP rates) for planned elective admissions.
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Despite "safe-hours" campaigns and doctors health programs, "at-risk" behaviour and suicides still occur in junior doctors. A recent national survey found that 46% of junior doctors believed that their hospital administration was not supportive. ⋯ Patient and individual doctor safety is paramount, and confidential collaboration between medical workforce and medical education structures, clinical supervisors and the Victorian Doctors Health Program is required. The boundaries of the hospital's "duty of care" for those who do not want assistance is unclear, and balancing increased supervision within a limited workforce is challenging.