“Having the Internet at my fingertips makes me a better doctor,” he writes, “though I’ll admit that sometimes it feels a bit like cheating on an exam.” He provides the example of looking up “retinitis pigmentosa” on the fly while gathering a patient’s medical history to quickly determine that annual vision checks would suffice for the patient.

When it comes to using the Internet to aid in diagnosis, however, quick, accurate answers may be harder to come by. In a 2006 study published in the British Medical Journal, for example, researchers had physicians read the histories of 26 tough cases published in the New England Journal of Medicine and attempt to make a diagnosis by entering search terms into Google. The physicians in the study arrived at the right diagnosis 58 percent of the time; Parikh got none correct when trying the experiment on his own.

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Research commissioned by the national depression initiative Beyond Blue has found women in the profession are two-and-a-half times more likely to commit suicide than other women.

The study – to be presented in Adelaide today – also suggests rates of suicide for men in the medical professional are 25 per cent higher than the general public.

Associate Professor Michael Baigent from Beyond Blue says it is important to remove the notion that poor self-care is part of a medical career.

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(Picture courtesy of www.abc.net.au)

External agents were the perpetrators in 70 percent of cases, but insiders were implicated in 48 percent of cases and business partners in 7 percent. (The numbers exceed 100 percent because many cases involved multiple parties.) Misuse of privilege was the most common problem, but hacking and malware remain big threats. Most attacks were not considered highly difficult, and victims generally had evidence of the breaches in their log files.

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Hobart doctor Graham Alexander has been heartened to see independent MPs emerge as kingmakers.

“The immediate reaction from the independents such as Tony Windsor was the reaction from what he heard from his constituents, which is health is the big concern,” he said.

“The concern that I have – with more press conferences, more press club luncheons – the focus seems to be steering away from what the concerns of their constituents are to the life of politics in Canberra, which is far from the concerns that the people in their constituencies face.”

Dr Alexander’s concerns are shared by the Rural Doctors Association.

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The symptoms predict the risk of cancer with such accuracy in certain age groups that patients should be referred to a specialist straight away unless there is a plausible explanation.

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The consumer group has investigated the usage and marketing of popular analgesics such as paracetamol, aspirin and ibuprofen.

Spokesman Christopher Zinn said while the drugs were found to be generally safe while providing temporary relief, doctors were increasingly reporting seeing the effects of analgesic overuse.

This included users suffering “withdrawal” headaches caused by overuse of the same medications used to treat them.

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THE internship shortage for medical students has reached crisis point, says the Australian Medical Association (AMA).

Faced with a growing ageing population, the AMA says the shortage could have severe implications on the nation’s ability to provide adequate health care.

AMA President Dr Andrew Pesce said that while student numbers were growing, their ability to help the medical workforce shortage was being hindered by a lack of training available.

“Unless we devote more resources to medical training after medical school, the reality is that as graduate numbers grow, more and more graduates will miss out on an intern place and be forced to look overseas to complete their training,” Dr Pesce said in a statement today.

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Delivering a full-year profit crimped by recent cuts to Medicare fees for pathology services, Sonic’s outspoken chief executive, Colin Goldschmidt, warned that further cuts would seriously damage the industry.

“We . . . are arguing very strongly that fee cuts are not appropriate any more,” Dr Goldschmidt said yesterday. “We have made this point to the highest levels of government and the bureaucracy.

“If prudence and good sense prevail, I don’t believe there will be any more fee cuts.”

Australia’s largest pathology provider has reported an annual net profit of $293 million, down 7 per cent on last year’s $315m profit before one-off restructuring costs associated with the company’s New Zealand business.

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The Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS), with key partners the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and ACT Health, is delighted to host the National Forum on Safety and Quality in Health Care in Canberra at the National Convention Centre, 25-27 October 2010.

This central venue is appropriate for a contemporary program of national significance for anyone working on safety and quality in health care.

The theme is Society, Regulators and Health Providers: a clash of expectations?

With speakers ranging from local health journalists to international safety and quality leaders, this timely and unique program will tackle high profile issues on the national agenda.

The program is being designed by representatives from national bodies, the public and private sectors along with consumer representation.

Join us in Australia’s capital for this contemporary and dynamic program, a busy exhibition, a vibrant social calendar and a chance to meet and network with colleagues.

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(Picture courtesy of www.sapmea.asn.au)

Zapping spuds with ultrasound or electricity can make them healthier, research has shown.

The stress of being sonically blasted or shocked causes them to generate more antioxidants, which have been shown to combat heart disease and cancer.

Researchers believe the techniques could be used to turn the humble spud into one of nature’s “super foods”.

Potatoes, the world’s fifth most widely consumed plant food, are already a good source of antioxidants, including vitamin C and compounds called polyphenols.

Scientists built a laboratory “torture chamber” where they could subject spuds to high frequency ultrasonic sound waves or mild electric shocks.

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(Picture courtesy of www.sbs.com.au)