Primary Care

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...

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing released plans to phase out Medicare rebate cheques by July 2028 and opened a public consultation on the changes. Under the proposal, government cheques...

A major review published in Lancet Obstetrics Gynecology and Women’s Health finds no link between taking paracetamol during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder ADHD or intellectual disability in ch...

Late in 2025, the Prime Minister urged states to rein in public hospital spending as a condition for ongoing Commonwealth funding. States pushed back, noting rising demand, complexity and access press...

Researchers in Sydney led an international effort through the Stroke and Cognition Consortium STROKOG to build a simple dementia risk calculator for stroke survivors. The tool is Excel based and uses...

A Commonwealth Fund global survey of nearly 11,000 GPs across 10 countries, including Australia, shows burnout is high among Australian clinicians. In Australia, 32% of GPs report burnout, with admini...

Researchers analysed data from more than 36,000 GPs across 103 local areas in Australia, covering before, during and after the COVID period. GPs who used telemedicine more intensively prescribed aroun...

South Australia is shaping its policy debate ahead of the state election with a focus on general practitioner workforce and after hours care. The Liberal Party has pledged to remove payroll tax for GP...

ATAGI has updated measles vaccination guidance for infants travelling overseas. Infants aged 6–11 months who get an MMR dose before travel must have that dose repeated. They should then receive two mo...

Australia’s peak medical group, the AMA, issued a position on complementary and alternative medicines. CAM should be used only with primary care and under evidence-based oversight. Evidence for many C...

Adelaide general practitioners are raising concerns about a surge in low dose iron supplements sold over the counter and online. Some products contain as little as 5 mg of iron, which clinicians say i...

From 1 January 2026 the Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) no longer requires prior financial approval for selected health services delivered to Veteran Card holders. These items will be added to t...

The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing will issue the first instalment of the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program by the end of January. Practices and GPs who have signed up and bulk bill...

The Commonwealth Fund released the 2025 Causes and Impacts of Burnout Among Primary Care Physicians in 10 Countries. It surveyed around 11 000 general practitioners across Australia, Canada, France, G...

Victoria expanded its Community Pharmacist Program to let pharmacists prescribe and dispense two hormonal contraceptives and an impetigo treatment. The change builds on a rollout that began last year,...

Parliamentary committees released their final report backing the Thriving Kids program, a $2 billion initiative set to start on 1 July 2026. The plan moves eligible children from the National Disabili...

The Department of Health and Disability Ageing has opened a public consultation on a modernised gap billing system for Australian GPs. From July 1, 2028, providers would submit electronic Medicare cla...

New Zealand’s Pae Ora reforms began in 2022, reshaping the health system by replacing 20 district health boards with Health New Zealand and creating a Māori Health Authority to embed Treaty-based gove...

Artificial intelligence tools are moving from pilot projects to day-to-day practice in Australian primary care. OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Health, a platform that lets patients upload medical records...