The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has published a new guideline, Primary Prevention of Cervical Cancer. An Expert Panel has reviewed existing guidelines and conducted five systematic reviews to come up with this consensus. 
The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet has provided an Overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Status 2016 which provides information about indigenous populations, their health status, risks and protective factors. Link to chapters on birth and pregnancy outcomes, hospitalisation, mortality and the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme is a huge social reform for Australia and it is currently being rolled out across the country. In NSW it is due to be fully operational by July 2018.
Excess mortality in persons and populations with severe mental disorders remains an important
global public health problem. Persons with SMD represent a vulnerable group with
many health care needs. Despite known risk factors for premature
mortality, evidence for effective interventions in persons with SMD is
limited.
A high body mass index is one of the strongest risk factors for new-onset Chronic Kidney Disease. Diseases of the kidneys, including CKD, nephrolithiasis and kidney cancers are among the effects of obesity, and have wide ranging consequences. They can ultimately lead to significant excess morbidity and mortality and excess costs to individuals and the entire society. Population-wide interventions to control obesity could have beneficial effects in preventing the development, or delaying the progression of CKD.
This guideline document is produced by the European Pain Federation (EFIC) in
order to provide a fair, balanced and evidence-based summary regarding the role
of opioid use in pain management. Athough it is published in Europe it recognises some important facts that impact on all countries;
Despite closing the gap being a national bipartisan priority for over 10 years, it appears that Australian governments at all levels are failing Australia’s First Peoples. As shown by the recent report of the Australian National Audit Office regarding the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, across nearly every government funded program, initiative or portfolio responsibility there is a continuation of imposed, unengaged and often rushed service delivery. It is especially concerning that the target to halve the gap in child
mortality by 2018 is not on track and that Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander child mortality did not improve significantly over the period
2008-2015.
This study published in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship provides evidence that when nurses do not have the ability to exercise their clinical and organisational knowledge, patient safety is put at risk. A professional work environment links to improved patient, personnel and organisational outcomes.
Three open access articles in a recent issue of Medical Journal of Australia discuss the considerable variation in fees for surgery, noting the considerable out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for patients, and the possible consequences for sustainability. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and Medibank, Australia’s largest private health insurer, have published reports on surgical variance, which detail the cost and outcomes of care in selected high volume procedures for general surgery, otolaryngology, urology, orthopaedics and vascular surgery. For example, prices for hip prostheses varied from $4908 and $16178, with a median of $10727.
The upshot of too much
control is disengagement and burnout among healthcare professionals and a delay
in the introduction of improved standards for patient care. The findings revealed a predominance of a control-based approach to people management.
This report from the Bureau of Health Information provides detailed information about the
experiences of care for women during various stages of the maternity journey,
highlighting where NSW performs well, and potential areas for improvement. 
To meet the goal of achieving the highest quality of care through evidence-informed translation and application in practice, organizations should outline a plan for developing, organizing, implementing, and evaluating evidence-informed improvement interventions. The purpose of this article is to provide an example for developing an organizational model for improvement from concept to application.
Mental illnesses are associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic comorbidities. In this study, Correll et al. evaluate the prevalence of these comorbidities, hospitalisation outcomes and costs among patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. They find that more than 60% of inpatients with these disorders also have cardiometabolic comorbidities, and that increased comorbidity burden was associated with greater likelihood of readmission.
Child Vaccination: perspectives of Australian parents gives the results of the Australian Child Health Poll from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne. This is the source of the media reports about unvaccinated children being refused treatment by health care providers. See the comments at the end of the landing page for discussion about this. The report of the 2000 families surveyed also showed that 95% of them kept their children's vaccines up to date.
Experiences of maternity care in NSW public hospitals: January to December 2015 has been released by the Bureau of Health Information this month.
A study recently published in the Medical Journal of Australia has shown that "more active people require less hospital care, and an achievable extra 4300 steps per day would result in an average of one less day in hospital for each 3 years of life".
