Rural Health

The Phenotype Analyzer Chip is a blood test based device from the University of Queensland that shows how glioblastoma tumours respond to treatment using a simple blood sample. It reads extracellular...

Australia’s Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs will run a wide review of how recent Medicare reforms affect rural primary care. The inquiry will assess the 1 November 2025 changes...

The Australian Medical Association warns Medicare not to restrict GP access to MBS item 55278, which covers renal duplex ultrasound with B mode imaging and integrated Doppler flow analysis of renal an...

A NSW Primary Health Network released a viability analysis covering 189 general practices surveyed from July to October 2025 in the Hunter New England Central Coast region. The results show modest imp...

Birregurra, a rural Victoria town of about 1000 people, currently has only one GP at Birregurra Medical Centre. The clinic sits roughly two hours from Melbourne, and Dr Jared Kilday is leading a push...

Jill Ludford has announced her retirement after more than three decades in NSW Health, including 11 years as chief executive of Murrumbidgee Local Health District. The MLHD oversees a large regional h...

The Senate committee managing rural and regional affairs has opened a formal inquiry into rural Medicare access. The terms of reference focus on the financial viability of independently owned rural GP...

Birregurra, a small rural town about 130 kilometres southwest of Melbourne, has a population around 1000 and currently relies on a single GP, Dr Jared Kilday. He is trying to attract another doctor to...

The RACGP has lodged an accreditation submission with the Australian Medical Council for a Rural Generalist Fellowship training program. This follows last year’s recognition of rural generalism as a s...

Australia’s Healthdirect launched 1800Medicare at the start of the year as part of a federal pledge to improve Healthdirect services under one national system. The new branding is still led by Healthd...

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...

A GP led project aims to give practical, evidence based tools for miscarriage care in general practice. Dr Joanne Wong from the University of Western Australia is leading the work. Miscarriage affects...

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...

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...

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...

ACRRM will start 370 GP registrars this training year, above its 320 funded places. It marks the third straight year of overfill for the college. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is neg...

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...

Darwin Private Hospital has closed its maternity services, seven months after the decision was announced. The Northern Territory is now left with no private obstetricians. At the time two private obst...