Friends of Science in Medicine
On 7 April 2019, the Minister for Health announced an updated review of natural therapies.[i] The review will be led by the Australian Government Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Professor Brendan Murphy, and be supported by the Natural Therapies Review Expert Advisory Panel (NTREAP). NTREAP … [Read more...]
‘The course is making money’ – University to drop Chinese medicine degree: “It’s a historical tradition that pre-dated the scientific era… There’s nothing wrong with looking at that using modern scientific techniques. The problem is people don’t, they tend to teach … [Read more...]
Reform Calls: Private health insurance at the crossroads: There is a plethora of data from other countries supporting primary care strategies that reduce hospital admissions for medical problems. The $11 billion of support for PHI should be steadily diverted to pay … [Read more...]
ACIP vaccine recommendations – updates for HPV, HepA, MenB, flu: ACIP meets three times a year to review and update vaccine schedules, determine if a new vaccine should be included in the schedule, and other issues. The members use … [Read more...]
Food labelling: When is a medicine not a medicine? “Complementary medicines listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) through the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) are generally assessed for quality and safety, but not efficacy. Restrictions also apply when advertising … [Read more...]
Natural cold and flu busters unlikely to do the trick but could do harm: Turmeric, another popular supplement – “it’s in bloody tea and coffee now,” says Professor Moses – is also a blood thinner. High doses of turmeric combined with … [Read more...]
Chronic Lyme disease: Fake diagnosis, not fake disease. The term “fake diagnosis” or “quack diagnosis”, however, directs the charge of fakery right where it belongs, at the quacks making the bogus diagnosis. The symptoms these patients experience are real. … [Read more...]
Timothy Caulfield: Are we enabling harmful wellness woo? “In this age of misinformation, fake news and twisted science, we need a stronger and less equivocal response to misinformation and unproven healthcare practices. Can we blame people for believing science-free nonsense … [Read more...]
Where food meets medicine – reform needed: “…the regulation of health claims for foods and therapeutic goods is inconsistent; complaint systems are inadequate, no effective penalties are applied for documented breaches of the law, and questionable (and potentially dangerous products) are … [Read more...]