The Medical journal of Australia
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Multicenter Study
Life expectancy discussions in a multisite sample of Australian medical oncology outpatients.
The study examined: 1) the proportion of patients who received their preferred level of information about life expectancy; and 2) sociodemographic, clinical and psychological factors associated with patients' perceptions of whether they received too little, too much, or the right amount of information about life expectancy. ⋯ That fact that 28% of cancer patients did not receive their desired level of information about life expectancy highlights the difficulties associated with discussing this sensitive topic. To ensure that life expectancy discussions correspond with patient preferences, clinicians should routinely ask patients whether they want to know this information, in what format, and at which level of detail.
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Observational Study
General practitioners' prescribing of lipid-lowering medications for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, 2001-2013.
To examine the prescribing of lipid-lowering medications during general practitioner encounters with Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians from 2001 to 2013. ⋯ We detected substantial increases in the prescribing of lipid-lowering medications from 2001 to 2013 for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous patients seen in Australian general practice. Providers were more likely to prescribe lipid-lowering medications for Indigenous than for non-Indigenous patients, suggesting some measure of success in expanding access to medications and reducing cardiovascular risk among Indigenous people.
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Comparative Study
Do teleoncology models of care enable safe delivery of chemotherapy in rural towns?
To compare the dose intensity and toxicity profiles for patients undergoing chemotherapy at the Townsville Cancer Centre (TCC), a tertiary cancer centre in northern Queensland, with those for patients treated in Mount Isa, supervised by the same medical oncologists via teleoncology. ⋯ It appears safe to administer chemotherapy in rural towns under the supervision of medical oncologists from larger centres via teleoncology, provided that rural health care resources and governance arrangements are adequate.