Highgate Health

28/03/2026

27/03/2026

06/03/2026

Everyone deserves to be heard

28/02/2026

28/02/2026

Highgate seeks Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses for our Infusion clinic & NDIS services email your CV to admin@highgatehealth.com.au

27/02/2026

24/02/2026

A great research project in to Long Covid a very real medical condition

UNE researcher and GP Dr Jacqueline Epps has been named a Chief Investigator on a $3 million national research project to transform Long COVID care in primary care settings across Australia, including rural and remote communities.

The new project – SAGE (Scalable Allied Health and General Practitioner Responses to Long-COVID in primary care) – will:

▪️Compare multidisciplinary, symptom-focused rehabilitation (physical therapy + psychological support) with self-directed management
▪️Help upskill GPs, practice nurses and allied health professionals in diagnosing and managing Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC)
▪️Test whether this model can work equitably for priority populations, including those in rural and remote communities

“General Practitioners face real challenges with Long COVID – studies show only a small minority feel very confident in diagnosing it, yet the vast majority want to learn more,” Dr Epps said.

“The outcomes from SAGE will provide comprehensive support, education and training to upskill GPs, practice nurses and allied health professionals, as well as patients themselves, in the diagnosis and multidisciplinary care of PASC.”

Based in the New England region, Dr Epps will lead recruitment and training of local rural clinicians in partnership with the Hunter New England and Central Coast Primary Health Network, while UNE medical students gain the chance to learn within real-world research tackling a major rural health challenge.

If proven cost-effective, this scalable model could be embedded into primary care funding nationally, improving Long COVID care for all Australians – not just those in cities.

🔗 Go to comments for full story.

23/02/2026

New guidelines for endometriosis diagnosis in Australia laparoscopic diagnosis no longer required under new guidelines released

Hot off the press - New Clinical Practice Guideline: Diagnosis of Endometriosis.

Here is the rundown of the new guidelines:

ACOG has formally shifted endometriosis from a surgically confirmed disease to a clinically diagnosable chronic pain disorder. You no longer need laparoscopy to diagnose or treat.
The modern model is: Clinical diagnosis → empiric treatment → selective surgery

This is the single most important paradigm change affecting OB-GYN practice.

When laparoscopy (surgery) IS appropriate
• Failed empiric therapy
• Diagnostic uncertainty
• Patient wants definitive diagnosis
• Infertility evaluation context
• Suspicion for alternative pathology

Surgical principles emphasized
If you go to the OR:
• Perform systematic inspection
• Biopsy suspicious lesions
• Treat disease during same surgery

ACOG highlights average delay: 4–11 years to diagnosis
Guideline goal = reduce delay.

The shift reflects recognition that:
• Endometriosis behaves like a chronic inflammatory pain syndrome
• Surgery-first models worsened outcomes because of the delay in care (may take years to get surgery) and delaying treatment of endometriosis.
• Imaging and symptom prediction models improved
• Earlier hormonal suppression reduces disease burdens.

Modern pain science changed everything.

Endometriosis pain becomes neuroplastic, not purely lesion-driven.

Untreated chronic nociceptive input causes:
• peripheral nerve sprouting
• neuroangiogenesis
• spinal cord sensitization
• altered CNS pain processing

Once these pain pathways have been established: pain can persist even after lesion removal.

So delaying medical treatment until surgery allowed pain pathways to become entrenched.

This is why:
• some patients have severe pain with minimal disease
• excision alone SOMETIMES fails LATE-stage patients

Early hormonal suppression reduces this progression and helps improve pain when lesions are caught early and managed and ideally removed.

Endometriosis pain is very real. Treat the pain as well as the disease. Even with negative laparoscopy - does not rule out the disease.

Link to the new clinical practice guideline: https://www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/clinical-practice-guideline/articles/2026/03/diagnosis-of-endometriosis

23/02/2026

New advances in adrenaline in Australia. Intranasal adrenaline spray NEEDLE FREE

Introducing , the first needle-free adrenaline nasal spray approved for use in Australia 🙌

Individuals at risk of anaphylaxis and their carers are encouraged to speak with their treating doctor to discuss which adrenaline device best meets their needs.

Marking the first major development in anaphylaxis treatment in more than 30 years, neffy® gives those at risk of anaphylaxis another treatment option. It's a single-use nasal spray containing one dose of adrenaline, suitable for those aged 4+.

We've been working closely with the Australian distributor of neffy® to ensure we can provide you with accurate information on this new adrenaline device and tell you what you need to know. Visit the new neffy® section of our website for all the details: https://loom.ly/6YKLg9U

19/02/2026

Sorry everyone we had a number technical issues but our booking website is up and running again!