Health Daily - 04/01/2026

• The Albanese Government has launched 1800MEDICARE, a round-the-clock telehealth service giving Australians access to medical advice anytime. 
• Callers can speak to registered nurses for health guidance, and between 6 pm–8 am can be connected to a GP by phone or video for urgent advice, prescriptions, or treatment referrals. 
• The service is free for overnight calls, available by phone, online, or via a revamped ‘my health’ app, and is expected to reduce unnecessary emergency department visits significantly. 
• The initiative aims to help ease GP access issues amid rising costs, support local care, and is linked with broader healthcare measures such as cheaper medicines.

Learn about telehealth expansion around the world:

• In 2025, the author published nearly 100 detailed pieces on how artificial intelligence intersects with mental health, covering legal, ethical, clinical, and technological perspectives as well as predictions for 2026 and beyond.
• Only a few U.S. states have enacted new laws regulating AI’s role in mental health advice so far, and federal regulation efforts haven’t yet succeeded. Many of these laws are expected to face legal challenges.
• The article points out that while AI can expand access to mental health guidance and provide innovative new tools and insights, it also poses significant risks — including incorrect or harmful advice and psychological pitfalls that society is only beginning to understand.
• The author frames the widespread adoption of AI mental‑health tools as a kind of “global experiment,” with unpredictable effects on human psychological well‑being; navigating these opportunities and threats will require careful thought by policymakers, clinicians, developers and the public alike.

• Officials are looking at proposals to modify or lift specific AI‑related rules that apply to medical devices under the EU’s broader AI regulatory framework.
• The move comes after an internal “power struggle” within EU institutions and strong lobbying from the medical technology sector, which argues that strict AI rules hinder innovation and competitiveness in the medical devices market.
• MedTech and related trade bodies have supported easing the regulatory burden, but critics (including patient safety advocates like WHO) have expressed concerns that loosening rules could create gaps in protections for patients and healthcare providers.
• The review of AI rules for medical devices is part of a larger “Digital Omnibus” initiative aimed at simplifying digital and AI regulations across the EU, with possible implications for how quickly new EU AI safety rules take effect in health sectors.

• The global use of wearable healthcare devices, including blood pressure monitors, ECGs, glucose monitors, and ultrasound patches, is projected to increase 42-fold by 2050, reaching nearly two billion units annually.
• This massive surge in device consumption is expected to generate about 3.4 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions and significant e-waste, highlighting sustainability challenges.
• Researchers estimate each device could emit up to 6 kg of CO₂ equivalent over its full lifecycle, from raw material extraction to disposal, underscoring the importance of eco-responsible design.
• By 2050, non-invasive continuous glucose monitors are predicted to dominate this category, surpassing other wearables in market share.