Internal medicine journal
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Obtaining informed consent is an important responsibility of all doctors and is a major component of their day-to-day practice. However, little is known regarding practising doctors' understanding of consent in relation to medical law. ⋯ The results from our survey suggest that there is a requirement to enhance the education of medical practitioners to meet the medicolegal requirements and optimise consent.
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Internal medicine journal · Jul 2021
Prevalence and sites of pain in remote-living older Aboriginal Australians, and associations with depressive symptoms and disability.
Pain is a growing public health problem associated with significant health and functional implications. Limited data exist for Aboriginal Australians. ⋯ High levels of pain were reported, although the prevalence of persistent pain was comparable to the general population. Identifying risk factors, improving pain recognition and assessment and evaluating culturally tailored management approaches should be a priority.
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Internal medicine journal · Jul 2021
Australia-Wide Cross-Sectional Survey of General Practitioners' Knowledge And Practice Of Lung Cancer Screening.
Low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening can reduce lung cancer deaths in high-risk individuals, yet current Australian guidelines do not recommend screening. Little is known about current screening practices in Australia. ⋯ In Australia, lung cancer screening occurs outside a coordinated programme, and there is discordance between practice and national recommendations. This highlights an urgent need for clearer guidance from national and professional bodies.
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Internal medicine journal · Jul 2021
Accessible and affordable healthcare? Views of Australians with and without chronic conditions.
With 50% of Australians having chronic disease, health consumer views are an important barometer of the 'health' of the healthcare system for system improvement and sustainability. ⋯ Health consumers, especially those with chronic conditions, identified significant cost barriers to access of healthcare. Equitable access to healthcare must be at the centre of health reform.
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Internal medicine journal · Jul 2021
Supporting cancer care clinicians to 'hold' their patients during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: a role for reflective ethics discussions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an overwhelming burden on healthcare delivery globally. This paper examines how COVID-19 has affected cancer care clinicians' capacity to deliver cancer care in the Australian context. We use the lens of 'holding patients' (drawing from attachment theory, psychology and from Australian Indigenous knowledge) to conceptualise cancer clinicians' processes of care and therapeutic relationships with patients. ⋯ They enrich ethical language beyond duties to benefit, avoid harm, respect patients' autonomy and provide just treatment. We consider the disruptive effects of COVID-19 on care delivery and on clinicians themselves. We then show how models of clinical ethics and other similar reflective discussion approaches are a relevant support mechanism to assist clinicians to process and make sense of COVID-19's disruptions to their professional ethical role of holding patients during and beyond the pandemic.