The Hon Tony Abbott MHR - Media Items
Listed below are media items for The Hon Tony Abbott MP, Former Minister for Health and Ageing
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Previous MinistersDecember 2005
22 December 2005
Early resupply rules for repeat supplies of some PBS medicines
From 1 January 2006, certain repeat medicines dispensed within 20 days of the previous supply will fall outside the PBS safety net.
22 December 2005
Keeping trained procedural GPs in rural areas
The Commonwealth Government will expand the formal training program for country procedural GPs to include emergency medicine – a field critical for procedural GPs practising in the bush.
22 December 2005
More support for rural and remote medicine
The Commonwealth Government has committed new funding of $1 million to the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) to develop an accredited training program for rural GPs.
22 December 2005
Medicare provider number legislation endorsed
The 2005 Biennial Review of the Medicare Provider Number legislation reported that it has had a positive impact on raising the quality of general practice services to the community and has ensured that many rural communities experiencing significant workforce shortages are adequately supplied with doctors.
21 December 2005
Australian Health Care Agreements
The Government has no intention whatsoever of taking over the public hospital system, notwithstanding some enthusiastic reporting in today's edition ofThe Australian.
19 December 2005
New PBS drug for cardiovascular diseases
The Australian Government has decided to subsidise a new drug through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to help people with heart disease. VytorinŽ will be available through the PBS from 1 February 2006 for the treatment of cardiovascular disease.
19 December 2005
Increased rebates for medical checks in pregnancy
Medicare rebates for antenatal checks on pregnant women by GPs and specialists will be increased by more than 17 per cent to encourage GPs to continue providing obstetrics services.
16 December 2005
Help for terminally ill children and their families
The Australian Government has funded a new information kit to help families and carers of terminally ill children.
16 December 2005
Government adds Relenza to national medicines stockpile
The Australian Government has negotiated the purchase of 1.8 million additional courses of the influenza antiviral Relenza to add to the National Medical Stockpile in preparation for a possible influenza pandemic.
15 December 2005
Against Greed
Minister for Health and Ageing Tony Abbott’s address to the first medical graduates of James Cook University, Townsville.
15 December 2005
Medical training boost for rural North Queensland
The Australian Government has committed $3 million over two years for a new rural clinical school to be established by James Cook University Medical School.
14 December 2005
PBS expenditure tops $6 billion
Expenditure under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) was more than $6 billion in the 2004-05 financial year, according to figures from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Pricing Authority (PBPA).
14 December 2005
Reminder to parents – don't forget your child's free pneumococcal vaccination
The Commonwealth Government is encouraging all parents of children born between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2004 who have not yet received a free pneumococcal vaccine to visit their local GP or immunisation provider before the end of this year.
13 December 2005
New medical specialties recognised
Two new medical specialties, pain medicine and palliative medicine, will be created to improve the quality of care for Australians coping with chronic and acute pain or with terminal illness. The Australian Government is working with the profession to add new MBS items covering the work of these specialists.
11 December 2005
Government creates new Office for National Health Emergencies
The Commonwealth Government will provide $34.4 million over five years for the creation of a specialist unit within the Department of Health and Ageing to ensure Australia is able to provide a sustained health response in an emergency.
11 December 2005
Government provides more money for pandemic preparedness
The Commonwealth Government will provide a further $184.8 million over five years to significantly boost Australia's capacity to prepare and respond to major health emergencies such as an influenza pandemic.
08 December 2005
Better records make better doctors
Speech by Minister for Health and Ageing, Tony Abbott, to the Australian Medical Association E-Health Forum, Canberra, 8 December 2005.
08 December 2005
Australian scientists join forces with European colleagues to research auto-immune diseases
Two Australian researchers are to join forces with a European Union research team with the aim of developing new treatments for auto-immune diseases such as diabetes and Addison’s disease.
07 December 2005
Government funds new drug for people with heart disease
The Commonwealth Government will fund a new drug to help thousands of Australians with heart disease.
06 December 2005
Indigenous health announcements
Transcript of the speech by Minister for Health and Ageing, Tony Abbott, at the Winniunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service, 6 December 2005.
06 December 2005
$30 million in funding for four new Indigenous health services
The Commonwealth Government will expand four Indigenous health services for remote communities most in need.
06 December 2005
More government support to tackle petrol sniffing
The Commonwealth Government has announced that seven additional Indigenous communities will receive non-sniffable petrol.
06 December 2005
New trachoma unit to combat eye disease
A national trachoma surveillance unit will be established to help tackle trachoma in Indigenous communities.
06 December 2005
Government reinforces commitment to Indigenous Health
The Commonwealth Government has announced 27 Indigenous primary health services will receive funding under the Healthy for Life program.
02 December 2005
The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) goes online
Medical practitioners and patients are now able to look up the latest Medicare scheduled fees and benefits via the Internet on a new web site, MBS Online.
02 December 2005
Government initiatives to tackle childhood obesity
The Australian Government has decided to extend the Healthy School Communities program to allow more schools across the country to take up this initiative. The program, worth $15 million, provides community organisations, linked with a primary or secondary school across Australia, with a grant of up to $1,500 for projects to promote healthy eating.
01 December 2005
Private health insurance: more portable
From 1 December, people who transfer their private health insurance between funds will no longer have to re-serve their waiting periods.
01 December 2005
Broadband for Health - Managed Health Networks Funding Announced
The Commonwealth Government has announced an additional $10 million to improve the Broadband for Health Program.
01 December 2005
New listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
The Commonwealth Government will subsidise several new medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the terminally ill, people with chronic pain, HIV, leukaemia and infertility.
01 December 2005
Australia better prepared on bird flu
Exercise Eleusis, a simulated avian influenza outbreak held nationally over three days, has better prepared Australia’s front-line agriculture and health agencies to deal with a real event.