Primary Care

The Department of Health Disability and Ageing launched a nationwide campaign to promote expanded bulk-billing incentives and the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program. The campaign carries the tagl...

Australia Day honours recognise 949 Australians across a range of awards, with the 2026 list including the Order of Australia in General and Military divisions, meritorious awards and recognitions for...

Australia is expanding access to after-hours care through 1800MEDICARE, a government-funded virtual GP service that launched on 1 January. The program is operated by Healthdirect Australia and funded...

Ten GPs were honoured in the Australia Day honours list. Nine current or former GPs feature across rural care, obstetrics, aged care and public health. Eight received the Medal of the Order of Austral...

Telehealth became widespread in Australia as COVID-19 hit, with more than 90% of general practices adopting the approach in the early months of the pandemic. In 2020-21, telehealth accounted for about...

Terry White Chemmart has launched the Pathway to Prescribing Program as part of a broader plan to embed pharmacist prescribing in routine pharmacy practice by 2026. The program provides governance, sa...

Researchers published findings on mental health support demand in 2021. They compared people with a common diagnosed disorder to those without and looked back to 2007 data. The main finding is that th...

ChatGPT Health was launched in early January 2026. It allows patients to upload medical records for AI analysis and uses the data to interpret recent test results, help patients prepare for appointmen...

Australian general practice shifted heavily to telehealth after the COVID-19 period. A study in the Journal of Health Economics used MBS and PBS data from 2017 to 2022 to compare antibiotic dispensing...

The Australian GP policy landscape is adjusting to Medicare's chronic disease management CDM framework, with a new CDM framework taking effect from 1 July 2025. The Royal Australian College of General...

The Australian government is pushing to grow GP training, with Health Minister Mark Butler signalling more junior doctors will enter general practice training. Last year saw a major investment to add...

A NSW rural GP internship supervisor, active since 2017, describes how one rural rotation in Finley (MMM5) evolved into a highly sought after training block in the Murrumbidgee region. The story highl...

Marcelle Cooper became a new mum who hid her struggles with postnatal anxiety and depression. A routine check with her regular GP focused on the baby rather than her mood. After realising she was not...

In Australia, GP access is presented as stronger than the common narrative suggests. Dr Nerida McDonald argues that general practice is highly accessible and that digital tools are already embedded in...

Tasmania’s Primary Health Network commissioned a fully funded workshop for general practitioners in the island state to boost domestic violence awareness and response. Led by Professor Kelsey Hegarty...

The Lancet editorial No health without peace argues that conflict is a fundamental determinant of health and the functioning of health systems. It says war will be a major health challenge in 2026. Cl...

Australia has enacted reforms to My Health Record through the Health Legislation Amendment Act 2025. The changes make uploading mandatory for pathology and diagnostic imaging reports. From October 202...

Australian genomic researchers from Monash University have renewed calls for a nationwide DNA screening program. The complete results from their 10 000-person pilot show 2% carry a high risk genetic v...

Eucalyptus, a digital clinic operator, has partnered with Consultmed to use its platform for secure, structured communication between clinicians and patients’ regular GPs. The deal supports shared car...

Australia’s My Health Record has been modernised to give patients access to pathology results on the same day as their clinician. From March, patients can view limb X-ray reports immediately after upl...