The Medical journal of Australia
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People experiencing homelessness have multiple complex health conditions yet are typically disengaged from primary health care services and place a significant burden on the acute health system. Barriers preventing people who are homeless from accessing primary care can be both personal and practical and include competing needs and priorities, illness and poor health, physical access to health services, difficulty in contacting services, medication security, and the affordability of health care. Differences in social status and perceptions of being judged can lead to relationship barriers to accessing primary care. Key solutions include prioritising access to stable housing, continuity of health care, specialised homeless general practice, hospital inreach, discharge planning and coordinated care, general practice outreach, and medical recovery centres.
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Multicenter Study
Cannabidiol for treating drug-resistant epilepsy in children: the New South Wales experience.
To evaluate the tolerability and safety of cannabidiol for treating drug-resistant epilepsy in children, and to describe adverse events associated with such treatment. ⋯ Cannabidiol as an adjunct treatment had some subjective benefit for overall health, with a manageable adverse event profile. Monitoring changes in liver function and awareness of potential drug interactions is essential. Whether the reported benefit is attributable to cannabidiol cannot be established in an open label study of participants with severe intractable epilepsy.
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To explore patterns of cannabis use for medical purposes in Australia immediately prior to the 2016 legislation for frameworks for medical cannabis use. Design, setting: Anonymous online survey with convenience sample, April-October 2016. Participants were recruited through online media and at professional and consumer forums. ⋯ Illicitly sourced cannabis is used to treat a broad range of medical conditions in Australia. Future models of prescribed medical cannabis take consumer patterns of use and demand into consideration.