Michael Tam

Dr Michael Tam is a clinical academic Specialist General Practitioner, combining the provision of family medicine, research, health services development, and governance. Michael’s clinical interest is in the whole-person primary care of people living with mental illness. He is actively involved in mental health policy, strategy, and governance, with local, state, and national bodies. Michael’s research is in integrated care and preventive care in general practice. He has expertise in both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Most commented posts

  1. Health Check: can you treat the common cold? — 6 comments
  2. Monday’s medical myth: take an aspirin a day after you turn 50 — 3 comments
  3. Quoted in ABC Life article, “Knowing when you should call into work sick with a cold or flu” — 3 comments
  4. Monday’s medical myth: cranberry juice prevents bladder infections — 2 comments
  5. Why don’t we detect at-risk drinkers? A qualitative study of GP beliefs and attitudes — 2 comments

Author's posts

Jan 18 2016

Quotation in “Supplement vitamin D rather than test”

I was quoted in an article in MJA InSight, written by Cate Swannell, about my comments on a new short report published in the MJA (Vitamin D testing: new targeted guidelines stem the overtesting tide). Dr Michael Tam, a staff specialist in general practice and a conjoint senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales, told MJA …

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Jan 04 2016

Busted myths: what spiders, chewing gum and haemorrhoids have in common

Busted myths: what spiders, chewing gum and haemorrhoids have in common Maggie Hardy, The University of Queensland; Michael Tam, UNSW Australia, and Vincent Ho, Western Sydney University As children, we believed our friends and parents when they told us disturbing tales of watermelon seeds growing in our stomachs and changes in the wind freezing our …

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Dec 02 2015

Medication and mental illness (short film)

This short film was produced and released with the launch of the “Medication and mental illness” perspectives paper by the Mental Health Commission of New South Wales on 2 December 2015. I was interviewed and appear in the short film, and was involved in the development of the paper as a member of the Commission’s …

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Dec 02 2015

Medication and mental illness – perspectives

This paper was launched by the Mental Health Commission of New South Wales on 2 December 2015.  It “tells the story of medication as a treatment for mental illness from the perspective of consumers, carers, families and people who work within the mental health system”. I was involved in the development of this paper as …

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Nov 18 2015

Does alcohol screening work in general practice?

This clinical article on the evidence surrounding alcohol screening and brief interventions was published in the medical periodical, The Medical Republic.

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Nov 03 2015

Alcohol enquiry by GPs – understanding patients’ perspectives: a qualitative study

This research article on patient beliefs and attitudes towards alcohol discussions with GPs was published in Australian Family Physician. (PDF). Tam CWM, Leong L, Zwar N, Hespe C. Alcohol enquiry by GPs – understanding patient perspectives: a qualitative study. Australian family physician. 2015;44(11):833-8. GP Unit authors: Michael Tam, Louis Leong

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