Sophie Scott is the national medical reporter for the ABC, in addition to being a prominent public speaker.
Sophie has won numerous awards for excellence in medical and health journalism, including an Australian Museum Eureka award and multiple awards from various professional medical colleges.
Sophie’s reports appear on the ABC news, Lateline, and 7:30. She hosts the Health Quarter on ABC News 24 and is a frequent guest on Richard Glover’s 702 Drive.
She is an ambassador for Bowel Cancer Australia, to raise awareness of cancer screening.
She is the author of two books, Live a Longer Life and Roadtesting Happiness.
Follow her on Twitter @sophiescott2
Email scott.sophie@abc.net.au
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Our habits drive many of the choices we make every single day. So how do they influence us and how might we change them?
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Australia's consumer watchdog plans to take legal action against more private health insurers this year, saying many patients are being slugged with unexpected hefty bills after hospital visits.
Topics: health-insurance, health, consumer-protection, australia
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| UpdatedA portable helmet being trialled by Australian paramedics that uses microwave technology to quickly diagnose a suspected stroke could help doctors save lives and intervene before major brain damage occurs.
Topics: stroke, health, diseases-and-disorders, inventions, australia
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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.
Topics: medical-research, health, doctors-and-medical-professionals, babies, family-and-children, infant-health, diseases-and-disorders, child-health-and-behaviour, melbourne-3000, vic, australia
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| UpdatedMedical professionals are raising concerns about a potential conflict of interest in the widespread practice of pharmaceutical companies sponsoring little-known hospital "journal clubs".
Topics: pharmaceuticals, health, doctors-and-medical-professionals, australia
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There are concerns drug companies will be better able to hide how much they wine and dine doctors under changes to public reporting rules, with one expert labelling the changes a "step backwards" for transparency.
Topics: medical-ethics, doctors-and-medical-professionals, health, stroke, diseases-and-disorders, australia
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Sue Godfrey is one of those questioning the marketing of new-generation blood thinners including Pradaxa, the medication her elderly mother had been taking before she died of a stroke.
Topics: medical-ethics, doctors-and-medical-professionals, health, stroke, diseases-and-disorders, australia
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| UpdatedAn ABC investigation finds pharmaceutical companies spent more than $2.6 million on "educational events" for doctors on new-generation blood thinners in just six months in 2015, raising concerns the potentially risky drugs are being prescribed to some patients who may not need them.
Topics: medical-ethics, doctors-and-medical-professionals, health, stroke, diseases-and-disorders, australia
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| UpdatedMedical experts are calling for vitamins and supplements sold in Australia to be independently tested, after a review found a number of complementary medicines contained chemicals, natural toxins, heavy metals or pesticides that put people at risk.
Topics: health, alternative-medicine, herbalist, safety, community-and-society, australia
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| UpdatedThe day after Christmas, Sophie Scott's son got an emergency call to go to the intensive care unit at the local hospital. What happened next gave two families a lesson they had not been expecting.
Topics: death, accidents, family, human-interest, people, australia
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| UpdatedPatients with multiple sclerosis will soon have access to a new test which can tell them exactly what type of MS they have and how well their medications are working.
Topics: multiple-sclerosis, diseases-and-disorders, health, medical-research, doctors-and-medical-professionals, australia
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Popular anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, have little impact on lower back and neck pain, an Australian study finds.
Topics: health, pain, back-pain, drug-use, community-and-society, australia
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| UpdatedThe Mediterranean diet is well known for its physical health benefits and it is now being hailed as the latest weapon in tackling mental health problems.
Topics: depression, diseases-and-disorders, health, mental-health, diet-and-nutrition, medical-research, australia
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| UpdatedChildren who are younger than their school peers are "twice as likely" to be on medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder than their older classmates, a new study finds, raising concerns the younger children may have been misdiagnosed.
Topics: adhd, medical-research, diseases-and-disorders, health, education, children, australia
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| UpdatedA group of doctors calls for alcohol sponsorship of cricket to be banned and the broadcasting authority to plug a loophole that allows sport progams to show alcohol ads when children are most likely to be watching television.
Topics: advertising, information-and-communication, advertising-and-marketing, alcohol, health, sports-organisations, cricket, australia
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| UpdatedThe dream of being able to 3D print human tissue to help repair cells damaged after heart attacks is a big step closer, with a breakthrough by scientists at Sydney's Heart Research Institute.
Topics: medical-research, health, heart-disease, diseases-and-disorders, sydney-2000, nsw, australia
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A type of cancer linked to bacteria-contaminated breast implants is much more common than previously thought, health authorities reveal.
Topics: cancer, health, womens-health, australia
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| UpdatedA many as 388,000 Australians will lose free dental care under changes announced by Health Minister Sussan Ley, experts say.
Topics: dental, health, federal-government, australia
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| UpdatedIn an Australian first, doctors are screening people at high risk of developing pancreatic cancer to pick up early warning signs of the aggressive disease, something long thought to be ineffective and expensive.
Topics: cancer, diseases-and-disorders, health, medical-research, medical-procedures, sydney-2000, nsw, australia
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An analysis of more than 4,000 blood samples from pregnant women and their children finds women with low vitamin D are more likely to have children with autistic traits by the age of six.
Topics: autism-spectrum-disorder, diseases-and-disorders, health, medical-research, reproduction-and-contraception, pregnancy-and-childbirth, qld, australia
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| UpdatedA cosmetic surgeon who admitted to taking a sedative and falling asleep while performing liposuction on a patient has his medical registration cancelled by New South Wales health authorities.
Topics: doctors-and-medical-professionals, medical-ethics, medical-procedures, fairfield-2165
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Work deadlines, parties, Christmas shopping and exhaustion. Many of us are looking for a better way to do this time of year. Living by your core values could be a way to enjoy the holiday season, writes ABC reporter Sophie Scott.
Topics: stress, mental-health, happiness, australia
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| UpdatedStrong drugs used to treat elderly patients with a common condition called delirium may not work and might even hasten death, a landmark Australian study finds.
Topics: mental-health, health, diseases-and-disorders, pharmaceuticals, australia
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The largest clinical trial ever conducted in Australia aims to find out if taking a daily low dose of aspirin can prevent disease in healthy older people.
Topics: health, pharmaceuticals, medical-research, science-and-technology, research, older-people, australia
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| UpdatedAs many as 25 per cent of patients who are told they have Parkinson's disease actually have other degenerative brain conditions, prompting Australian doctors to investigate more accurate ways to diagnose the illness.
Topics: parkinson-s-disease, health, medical-research, diseases-and-disorders, australia