Despite guideline recommendations for assessment and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders there are drivers in the health system that dissuade clinicians from implementing these. These include reimbursement and training in the area of developmental disorders.

Autism spectrum disorder is often diagnosed late in Australia due to gaps in developmental surveillance and long waitlists for diagnostic evaluations. This podcast discusses a national guideline intended to streamline this process.

We continue the theme of responding to burnout by getting some of advice from doctors turned career coaches. We also hear from a respected occupational physician, and a listener with an simple message to raise morale between colleagues.

At Congress 2022 physicians shared the dramatic adversities that had forced them to take charge and rethink their roles in medicine. Burnout should be considered not as a mental health condition but as an occupational disorder that requires collective responsibility.

This episode features two physicians who took advocacy to the next level and ran for Federal Parliament. They explain the process of getting health policy heard and how to push it through the Canberra machine and onto the political agenda.

Australia will warm by more than three degrees by the end of the century with a direct impact on heat-related morbidity. It will also experience more frequent natural disasters and the RACP is calling for national coordination to help the health care system adapt.

Immunotherapy has revolutionised care for patients with advanced melanoma but it’s not possible to identify responders in advance. We explore conversations with patients around expectations for prognosis and toxicity.

The three word mission statement of the RACP is Educate - Advocate – Innovate. In this podcast we hear from physicians who have taken up a cause, and how the College can help amplify the message.

When can a child be considered to have autonomy to make healthcare decisions for themselves? How should responsibility for difficult decisions be shared between the patients, the parents and clinicians? And is it possible to minimise the moral injury when the wishes of the patient need to be over-ruled?

In Australia, litigation is the only way for victims to get financial compensation for the medical injury. New Zealand, by contrast, operates a no-fault scheme where the costs of hardship and ongoing care are born by the government for many harms incurred in healthcare.