Health

The Federal Government has moved to loosen importation laws on medicinal cannabis, and people who use it say they are cautiously optimistic.

Even as the Commonwealth Bank last week unveiled another record half-year profit of $5 billion, not everything was rosy — its life insurance arm CommInsure continues to be a headache, and with ASIC campaigning insurers to publicly report claim figures, premiums could rise as a consequence.

The Federal Government has approved the importation of medicinal marijuana. But it still won't be easy for people to get a prescription.

The Government looks set to unwind the Medicare rebate freeze in the May budget, in a move that could cost in excess of $3 billion.

Australia is being left behind when it comes to dealing with the obesity epidemic, according to a new report. Take a look at some of the key things it says can help us catch up.

Gastric band surgery should be made more widely available, researchers say, after a study found the procedure had major benefits to overweight people with type-two diabetes.

People with prosopagnosia know when they see a face, but their brain can't process who it belongs to.

A public hospital in country South Australia is forced to rely upon a private donor to fix a badly leaking roof after the State Government ignored repeated requests to replace it.

In most cases of death from carbon monoxide poisoning, the first responder will not recognise the risk and also die trying to rescue the victim, an expert says.

Sydney doctor Elizabeth Oliver was taken aback when a patient of hers said she earned "easy money". Now she has laid out her case for why she is worth more than the $37 the "frozen" Medicare rebate provides.

Australian doctors say viewing X-rays on a smartphone can be just as useful in diagnosing common lung problems in babies as looking at the standard X-ray film, opening up opportunities for rural patients who need quick diagnosis.

For many disability and education advocates it's confirmation of their long-held belief, but new figures appear to suggest students with a disability face an enormous funding gap in Australian schools.

Once it's fully operational, the NDIS will be one of the biggest Government-funded program after Medicare. But where will those funds come from?

A 65 per cent hike in the price of ice-cream might not sound like a great idea, but what if it meant you could live longer? Melbourne researchers say a sugar tax, combined with subsidies for healthy foods, could increase Australians' life expectancy.

Dementia is set to cost Australia an estimated $18 billion a year by 2025, as Alzheimer's Australia calls for a national strategy to combat the disease.

Victoria's residential care system is failing the young people it is set up to care for, a former workers says.

Five-time Paralympian and disability advocate Kurt Fearnley criticises the Federal Government's decision to cut funding to other social services to fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

The Victorian Government rejected a report it commissioned which recommended the introduction of compulsory mental health and drug treatment for vulnerable children in the strife-torn child protection and youth justice systems.

Medical professionals are raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest in the widespread practice of pharmaceutical companies sponsoring little-known hospital "journal clubs".