The Medical journal of Australia
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Divisions of General Practice are a significant part of Australia's health care sector. The Australian Government intends to establish "Medicare Locals" (MLs), which will assume many of the roles currently undertaken by Divisions. ⋯ While some Divisions may find transformation into an ML an appealing and relatively straightforward option, others may wish to follow alternative paths that allow them to maintain many of their current characteristics. Evidence suggests that the move to MLs might jeopardise the level of clinical involvement attained by Divisions.
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To determine the opinions and current practice of obstetricians and gynaecologists and trainees in the specialty with regard to induced abortion. ⋯ There was broad support among responding specialist obstetricians and gynaecologists and trainees for the availability of induced abortion in Australia. This study highlights the difficulties of accurately reporting a wide range of views on a contentious issue.
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Bowel cancer kills over 4000 Australians each year. From the late 1980s to October 2005, research evidence guided the development of bowel cancer screening policy proposals, but political, financial and institutional constraints restricted implementation options. ⋯ Even a partial program can be implemented in an evidence-based way, and failure to do so threatens to undermine the potential public health gains of a national bowel cancer screening program. To realise the expected public health gains from a national bowel cancer screening program, bowel cancer screening policy should return to its evidence-based beginnings, starting with an analysis of Australian age-specific cost-effectiveness data.
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A major change in medical teaching practices is needed to improve patient safety.