A doctor has been criticised for issuing a repeat prescription for antidepressants without a second face-to-face consultation with the patient, a young man who later took his own life.

Controversial anti-flu drug Tamiflu has been found to be useful, in the latest scientific study, at reducing the impact of influenza and keeping people out of hospital.

Ask Sir Murray Brennan about an esteemed medical career that has now been honoured with a knighthood and luck is a recurring theme.

Kiwis with cancer die from the disease sooner than Australian cancer patients, research shows, with some of the larger survival gaps in lung, liver and ovarian cancer.

Patients too often suffer in vain attempts to prolong life, because of the mandate to "do everything" for patients.

If we treated people with diabetes the way we treat those with depression, there would be an outcry, says the new president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

A bill which would legalise voluntary euthanasia has been dropped by Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway at the request of his leader Andrew Little.

A 10-year-old schoolgirl has caught the attention of Kiwi inventor Sir Ray Avery with a touching letter asking about his tough childhood.

A doctor from Sierra Leone with United States residency infected with Ebola may travel to the US to be treated for the deadly virus, medical officials say.

A man who tried to attend a $646 seminar held by a church offering a controversial cure for Ebola says he was turned away for offering a smaller donation.

Scientists from one of the world's leading institutes of tropical medicine, which first discovered the Ebola virus in the 1970s, flew out to Guinea yesterday to begin ground-breaking research into a possible cure.

A controversial healing group that claims to have a cure for Ebola is coming to NZ this weekend to promote a bleach-based solution that could be potentially fatal.

Senior British tabloid editors are shown naked, embarrassed and scuttling for cover in a new documentary targeting them with the kind of treatment usually dished out by their own newspapers.

For the first time in seven years, Jessika Guest feels like she is getting to know her daughter Jade.

New drugs and medical procedures undergo careful scrutiny before being foisted on the public. Nobody wants another Thalidomide disaster.

A repeat drink driver has travelled overseas to have an anti-booze drug implanted in his arm - and this week his lawyer will argue the radical move should keep him out of jail.

The World Health Organisation bungled efforts to halt the spread of Ebola in West Africa, an internal report revealed Friday.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has offered support for clinical trials of medicinal marijuana being considered in New South Wales.

A British woman died in France after her doctor was reported to have been drunk and to have botched her care during childbirth.

A Christchurch hospice has been told to review its practices after a coroner found a patient in its care was administered the wrong dosage of a pain relief drug and died four hours later.

Taking paracetamol while pregnant increases the risk of behavioural problems in school-age children, according to new NZ research.

Andrea Miller is used to facing tough situations. As a senior army officer for 22 years, she's faced all sorts of challenges, including a UN peacekeeping tour to East Timor.

Police are investigating after attempts were allegedly made to hack a nationwide patient database.

A breast cancer lobby group is urging women to read their own medical files and talk to their GP, after a doctor forgot to tell a woman she had cancer.

Louis Cheftel was born prematurely with severe to profound deafness in one ear and is likely to be the first child in the country to have a cochlear implant for single-sided deafness.