A tool to help people make the most of their medical appointments has been launched today, Thursday 11 May.

Surgery should be considered a last resort for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis, under a new clinical care standard released today by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care and which is designed to help patients get the best care.

Evidence-based management of anaemia and iron deficiency before surgery greatly improves patient care, an innovative project led by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Heath Care has shown.

A landmark new report to be launched today shows large variations in the provision of common health treatments across the country – giving health experts and clinicians valuable new information that will help to ensure more patients get the most effective and appropriate care.

Use of antibiotics has dropped markedly in Australian hospitals, new figures show – a shift that will help slow the spread of antibiotic resistant germs that cause dangerous infections that are difficult to treat.

A new surveillance system set up to provide early warning of the spread of dangerous bacteria has detected more than 1,000 cases across Australia resistant to last-line antibiotics – giving experts much better and more timely information to help combat the threat of antimicrobial resistance.

The Commission, in consultation with the National Pathology Accreditation Advisory Council (NPAAC), has released the fourth edition of Requirements for laboratory testing for immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) (the HIV and HCV testing standard).