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Despite ongoing efforts to improve the communication of medicines information across the health system, medication errors at transitions of care persist. Each year in Australia, 250 000 hospital admissions are due to medication-related errors, costing our healthcare system an estimated $1.4 billion. More than half of medication errors occur at transitions of care.

Natalie Kahwajy, Rodney Ecclestone, Phoebe Holdenson Kimura

People may take up or drop exercise habits during the life course, but these long-term patterns of activity may be associated with different risks of early death.

Ruyi Yu, Gregore Mielke

The launch of Australia’s National Lung Cancer Screening Program (NLCSP) is a step forward in preventive healthcare — but screening thousands of high-risk Australians with low-dose CT scans will inevitably uncover a far greater number of people with undiagnosed chronic respiratory disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Sanjay Ramakrishnan, Tamara Thornton, Christopher Kosky, Zoe B Castillo, Kylie Hill, John D Blakey

Australia’s health and medical research sector is a global leader in innovation and discovery. Yet, a hidden ethical problem in how research grants are funded threatens to undermine this reputation and the researchers it relies on.

Jane Speight, Elizabeth Holmes-Truscott, Timothy C Skinner

As another year draws to a close, InSight+ wishes to thank all of our readers and contributors for another year of sharing your excellent medical and health stories.

Sally Block

For almost two decades, the Australian Medical Association’s Public Hospital Report Card has tracked the health of our public hospital system, and in the past four years, dedicated mental health editions of the report have highlighted the unique challenges patients face when accessing mental healthcare in public hospitals.

Danielle McMullen

Why is it that different states and territories have different policies on meningococcal B vaccination?

Gary Grohmann, Robert Booy

The consultation room has a new participant. It arrives when patients pull up ChatGPT-generated symptom analyses. It appears when we use GenAI to check drug interactions or draft letters. And it's always listening when ambient AI scribes document our conversations. Whether acknowledged or not, GenAI is fundamentally changing what happens in the consultation room.

David Navarro

Under new industrial manslaughter laws, a doctor’s suicide linked to workplace mental injury may no longer be just a tragedy – it can be a crime. All medical workplaces, colleges, medical defence organisations (MDOs) and the AMA must unite to address systemic WHS breaches and to strengthen, coordinate and fund evidence-based suicide prevention initiatives in medicine. Failure to do so may expose individuals and organisations to catastrophic penalties including imprisonment – but, more importantly, cost more doctors’ lives.

Leanne Rowe