Diagnostic imaging is increasingly being used in Australia to aid clinician diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making. There is concern that this increased use represents an overconsumption of inappropriate health services, which wastes finite resources and may cause direct or indirect harm to the patient.
There is a lack of evidence around Australian general practitioners’ (GPs) views of issues surrounding breast density. The current study aimed to quantitatively assess GPs’ current knowledge, understanding, and feelings around breast density information and notification. This study involved a cross-sectional survey using an online [...]
Within health care, the carbon footprint of hemodialysis (HD) appears to be particularly high, due to both a high use of energy, water, and consumables, and the repeated nature of dialysis treatments. However, studies quantifying this carbon effect are sparse.
A simple audit and feedback mechanism can successfully reduce overuse of musculoskeletal imaging by General Practitioners (GPs) at a national scale, saving precious health system resources, and saving patients’ time, money, potential for incidental findings, unnecessary treatment and risk of harm from cumulative exposure to [...]
Among Australian high-requesting general practitioners, an individualized audit and feedback intervention significantly decreased the rate of targeted musculoskeletal imaging tests ordered over 12 months.
Unnecessary testing for levels of vitamin D is costing Australia's healthcare system about $87 million a year and contributing to the sector's carbon footprint, according to Australian researchers. The researchers found in 2020, more than 4.4 million vitamin D tests were funded by Medicare, enough [...]
This is the first study to undertake an adapted triple bottom line assessment of a low-value healthcare activity to explore and make explicit its health, financial and environmental impacts. Our triple bottom line assessment of vitamin D testing highlights that low-value care, which provides little [...]
Australia's first population-based pilot trial comparing digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and digital mammography (DM) screening reported detection measures in 2019. This study describes the trial's secondary outcomes pertaining to the assessment process in women screened with DBT or DM, including the type of recalled abnormalities [...]
This study aimed to systematically assess online international breast density information including recommendations to women.
This article outlines recommendations from the Health Services Research Association of Australia and New Zealand (HSRAANZ) for implementing PROMs to guide clinical care. It also describes the challenges that may arise and future research that may assist in the effective implementation of PROMs.