Traffic-light food labelling is necessary to make a radical change in Australia's food shopping behaviour, say nutrition researchers.

To control the modern epidemics of obesity, type 2 diabetes and other preventable diseases, Australia's dietary guidelines recommend moderation in the four nutritional areas of fat, saturated fat, added sugar and salt.

AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, today said he was heartened to see research being done into the affordability of healthy food in remote areas of Australia.

"Given the high freight and storage costs and short shelf-life in very hot climates, it's long been assumed that food prices in remote Australia may make it too expensive for many families to eat healthily," Dr Yong said.

"It's important to have had this theory confirmed by the research, which appears in today's issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Advertisers of junk food are exploiting loopholes in Television Standards to advertise high fat and high sugar foods to vulnerable youngsters, nutritionists have warned.

In a letter published in the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia, Ms Bridget Kelly, Public Health Dietitian at the NSW Centre for Overweight and Obesity and the NSW Centre for Public Health Nutrition, has called for codes of practice governing television advertising to Australian children to be clarified and tightened.

Increases in food prices, particularly in remote areas of Australia, may be contributing to the growing burden of obesity and chronic disease among people of low socioeconomic status and other vulnerable groups, according to senior nutritionists.

Research published in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia shows that Australians living in very remote areas pay an average of 30 per cent more than city-dwellers for a fortnight's "standard basket" of healthy food.

Safety, patient consent, and skills training are just some of the issues to be considered when introducing new information technology to the health sector, according to the Director of the Centre for Health Informatics in Sydney.

In his editorial for the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, Professor Enrico Coiera applies to Australia the lessons learned through the National Health Service's (NHS) National Program for IT in the United Kingdom.

AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, today recommended that Australians take advantage of their holiday time and indulge in a midday snooze to stay out of the sun.

"With the arrival of the summer holidays more Australians will be spending time outside in the sun. This puts them at serious risk of developing life-threatening skin cancers," Dr Yong said.

"Each year 1,500 Australians die from skin cancer, and hundreds of thousands will be treated for non-melanoma skin cancer.

Summer holidays are the ideal time for parents to encourage their children to put away the video games and DVDs and get involved in more active fun, AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, said today.

"Fun presents that promote fitness such as frisbees, cricket sets, soccer balls and tennis racquets are a great way to get kids interested in physical activity," Dr Yong said.

Forward planning is the key to keeping new year's resolutions to achieve improved health and happiness, AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, said today.

"The new year is a great time to make a fresh start and resolve to improve your health and fitness," Dr Yong said.

"Aim to keep your resolutions by planning ahead.

"For instance, if you plan to quit smoking, have a support network of friends and family ready to help, and speak to your doctor beforehand for tips on staying on track.

The AMA today welcomed the first formal agreement to deliver a fast, efficient new electronic claiming and payment system, heralding the move as a win for patients and doctors alike.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has become the first organisation to sign up to deliver the new system, which will allow patients to receive Medicare rebates immediately after paying the doctor's bill.

The AMA has today written to the Federal Health Minister, Shadow Health Minister, and State and Territory Health Ministers, urging them to protect patients' safety by disallowing overseas tenders for Australia's blood products supply.

AMA Vice President Dr Choong-Siew Yong said blood products must come from the safest, highest-quality, and most reliable source possible.

"The unpaid, voluntary nature of Australia's blood donation system is recognised as a critical contributor to the safety of our blood supply," Dr Yong said.

New figures show the Government must do more to train and support general practitioners to ensure all Australians are able to access GPs where and when they need them, AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, said today.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Medical Labour Force Report revealed that the GP workforce is ageing, and working fewer hours.

AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, today urged Australians to spare a thought this week for those who will be alone over Christmas.

"This time of year for most people means joyful gatherings with friends and family, but for some it spells only isolation and despair," Dr Yong said.

"The social circuit, gift-giving and family gatherings around Christmas and the new year can cause depression for those who are socially isolated.

As bushfires continue to rage across south-eastern Australia, AMA Vice-President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, today cautioned people with asthma or other respiratory and cardiac conditions to take extra care during periods of smoke haze.

"Smoke generated by bushfires can be dangerous to anyone's health, but that's particularly true for people with pre-existing respiratory or heart conditions," Dr Yong said.

"Large airborne particles such as embers can irritate the nose, throat and lungs.

"Small particles can be breathed in and damage the lungs."

As politicians debate whether public hospitals should be run by State or Federal governments, AMA Vice President Dr Choong-Siew Yong today said improved quality and safety must be the focus of the Australian hospital system, regardless of which jurisdiction is in charge.

Dr Yong said the AMA's new Position Statement on Quality and Safety in Public Hospitals, released today, should help inform the debate about federal/state relations on health.

Most alcohol-related sick leave appears to be taken by low-risk or infrequent drinkers, rather than problem drinkers, according to new research.

Dr Kenneth Pidd, Senior Research Officer at the National Centre for Education and Training on Addiction, Flinders University, and colleagues analysed data collected as part of the 2001 National Drug Strategy Household Survey to estimate the extent and cost of alcohol-related absenteeism in the Australian workforce.

Australia should formulate a comprehensive national refugee health strategy, Dr Mitchell Smith, Director of the NSW Refugee Health Service in Sydney, said in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Smith's editorial prefaces a range of research articles in the MJA which have identified significant health needs in recently arrived refugees, including under-immunisation, nutritional deficiencies, and hepatitis B.

This is despite the fact that refugees migrating to Australia undergo health examinations and testing before coming here.

Despite regulation and the risk of a road accident, many Australians continue to use hand-held mobile phones while driving, according to Sydney researchers.

Experimental research has shown both hand-held and hands-free phones can impair driving performance and increase the risk of a crash by four times.

In the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA), Dr Suzanne McEvoy and colleagues, from the Sydney-based George Institute for International Health, have published survey results of Australian use of mobile phones while driving.

A federal rural health inspector, better funding for primary care, and respect from bureaucrats towards those at the coalface would all help solve the shortage of general practitioners in rural and remote Australia, experts say in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Emeritus Professor Max Kamien, an honorary senior research fellow in general practice at the University of Western Australia, and Dr W Ian Cameron, chief executive of the NSW Rural Doctors Network, liken working in rural medicine to endlessly pushing a boulder up a mountain.

AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, today said the AMA's recent call for a nation-wide early childhood intervention program has been boosted by the findings of Griffith University and Mission Australia's worthy Pathways to Prevention Project.

The report, released today, demonstrated that pre-school intervention programs improved children's communication skills, reduced difficult behaviour, and strengthened family relationships.

AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, said today that there must be a change in the focus of health policy in Australia away from illness and towards prevention to end the 'blame game' detailed in yesterday's report on the Parliamentary inquiry into health funding.

ALEX SLOAN: And, as you've heard, the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil is to go on the National Immunisation Program, this announced by Prime Minister, John Howard and Health Minister, Tony Abbott today at a press conference. And joining me now to respond to this news is Dr Mukesh Haikerwal. He's the national president of the AMA. Nice to talk to you, thanks for coming out of a meeting.

DR HAIKERWAL: Hi. Good morning, thank you.

ALEX SLOAN: What's your response to this?

AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today that the Government has done the right thing by putting the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil, on the National Immunisation Programme, but warns that cervical cancer screening for older women must be stepped up.

The Government will from next year fund Gardasil for girls and women aged 12 to 26.

Families of all newborn babies should be formally assessed to determine whether they would benefit from professional support to enhance the child's mental and physical health, AMA Vice President and paediatric psychiatrist, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, said today.

"A growing body of evidence indicates that specific early interventions before and soon after birth, and until the child is at least two years old, can have a positive impact on a child's mental and physical health," Dr Yong said.

Food manufacturers should be banned from adding trans fatty acids to any food consumed in Australia, AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today.

"The AMA believes the addition of trans fatty acids to food should be phased out completely," Dr Haikerwal said.

"In the meantime, any food products that have had trans fatty acids added to them should be properly labelled to highlight the fact.

"Mandatory labelling should be introduced immediately."

AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today that the Government could save as much as $42 million a year in the Health Budget if it allowed GPs to refer patients directly for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

The details of the proposal are contained in the AMA's Federal Budget Submission 2007-08, which was released yesterday.

Dr Haikerwal said GPs currently have to refer patients to other specialists for them to get access to an MRI, a process that involves long waiting times, especially in rural areas.

AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, today called on the Federal Government to use next year's Budget to lead an assault on two of the biggest challenges confronting the health of the nation - the poor state of Indigenous health and the tightening grip of obesity on our community, particularly our young.

The Association's recommendations on these and other health priorities are set out in the AMA's Federal Budget Submission 2007-08.

All hospitals and medical businesses must develop business continuity plans to deal with a possible influenza pandemic, AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today.

Dr Haikerwal was responding to an article in the latest Medical Journal of Australia in which biosecurity and health specialists urged hospitals to draft comprehensive pandemic plans.

"Of course it's important that hospitals and medical businesses plan to continue to provide health care in the event of a flu pandemic," Dr Haikerwal said.

As increasing numbers of childhood cancer patients survive into adulthood, preservation of future fertility has become an important consideration in treatment, say senior cancer and fertility scientists.

About 750 children and adolescents in Australia and New Zealand are diagnosed with cancer every year, says Dr John Heath of the Children's Cancer Centre at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital.

"About 75 per cent of these patients are expected to be long-term survivors," Dr Heath says in the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA).

General practitioners need better resources and support to care for patients who experience violence in the home, say Melbourne researchers.

In an editorial for the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia, general practice and family health specialists have outlined new international guidelines for GPs and other doctors managing families in which partner violence is occurring.

Australian hospitals must plan for the possibility that crucial infrastructure such as power and telephones may fail in the event of an influenza pandemic, biosecurity and health specialists have warned in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

Australia's GP workforce would have to be redistributed to cope with a major influenza pandemic, general practice experts said in the latest issue of the Medical Journal of Australia.

As part of a special influenza pandemic supplement, Sydney GP Dr Nick Collins and colleagues outlined key strategies that GPs need to consider in planning for a pandemic.

"Some areas of Australia are well supplied with GPs, but workforce shortages are recognised in some rural and outer metropolitan regions," Dr Collins said.

GPs are unable to properly prepare for an influenza pandemic until State and Territory Governments consult with and inform doctors of their plans, AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today.

"General practitioners are keen to properly prepare for a flu pandemic but they're currently trying to do so in a vacuum of information on how jurisdictions propose to mobilise, integrate, finance and protect primary care," Dr Haikerwal said.

"Doctors need to know what measures will be put in place to protect the doctor, his or her family, staff and patients.

AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, today congratulated the Government on a PBS reform package that is evidence of close consultation with the AMA, and which delivers for patients.

Dr Haikerwal said the AMA is especially pleased that the draconian conditions and red tape associated with the authority prescription system have been eased.

"The Government has agreed that the expertise in prescribing medicines for serious and chronic conditions belongs with the doctor and not a bureaucrat at the end of a phone," Dr Haikerwal said.

The AMA has adopted a new policy it hopes will inspire Australians to restore exercise as a central part of the Australian way of life, AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today.

"Australia has long been known as a great sporting country, with a robust culture of physical activity and the outdoors," Dr Haikerwal said.

"Sadly, the rising obesity trend is blotting our image as a fit and healthy nation.

"The AMA Position Statement on Physical Activity sets out simple steps and suggestions to help people adopt more active lifestyles."

Every teacher and childcare worker should be trained in how to handle severe allergic reactions, AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today.

"The AMA is calling on all State and Territory Governments to introduce compulsory first aid training for people who work with children," Dr Haikerwal said.

"This training should cover appropriate first aid for anaphylactic shock, including how to use auto-injecting devices to inject adrenalin and treat a severe allergic reaction.

Uniform national standards must be set for clinical software used by doctors, AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today.

The use of clinical software packages is expanding rapidly in Australia but the lack of national functional specification standards and the lack of standardised testing of clinical software may create potential risks to quality and safety.

"The AMA is calling for a national regulatory framework to standardise and govern the use of clinical software in medical practice," Dr Haikerwal said.

The AMA Federal Council has endorsed recommendations from the AMA Rural Reference Group calling for a significant boost to psychiatric services available to rural and regional Australians.

AMA Vice President, Dr Choong-Siew Yong, a paediatric psychiatrist who spends time in rural practice, said today that specialist psychiatric services outside metropolitan areas are limited and, in some States, virtually non-existent.

Dr Yong said this places a heavy burden on the rural GPs who provide mental health services and who need to be given much more support.

The AMA has welcomed on-line consultations as an important additional tool in doctors' medical kits, particularly to help patients living in remote areas.

AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, said today that doctors are increasingly acknowledging the potential advantages that technology will add to medical encounters in the future.