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

Interview with Medical Observer

I was interviewed today by Emily Dunn, a health journalist from Medical Observer regarding my thoughts on the new interesting study by Kwoh et al. (2014), on the effect of glucosamine on knee osteoarthritis progression, as assessed using MRI, which was just published in the journal, Arthritis and Rheumatology.

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Comment: Prof Ken Harvey’s resignation from La Trobe University

The following is an amalgamation of a couple of comments written on the Paging Dr forum board.  This was in relation to the high profile and controversial resignation of Prof Ken Harvey from La Trobe University, following the announcement of the $15 million deal between Swisse and the university. It is one thing to fund research …

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Absolute cardiovascular disease risk: assessment and early intervention

The following lecture was first delivered to term 1, Phase 2 students in the Society and Health term, of the UNSW Medicine Program on Monday 3 March 2014. Length: 50 minutes Class size: up to ~ 300 (lecture) Learners: mid-Program medical students

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Comment: GP co-payments? Don’t save on primary care

The following is a comment to the online article, “GP co-payments? Don’t save on primary care” written by GP blogger, Dr Edwin Kruys. Dear Edwin, Great article. I agree with your premise. Regarding individuals valuing the services they receive from the GP more with co-payment, we should recognise that this is a complex question. We …

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Why do our hearts sink? Primer to managing difficult patient interactions

The following tutorial was first delivered to Phase 3 students in the summer teaching period of the Primary Care course, of the UNSW Medicine Program on Friday 7 February 2014. Length: 50 minutes Class size: up to ~ 80 Learners: senior medical students

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Consulting in General Practice: what is happening in the consultation room?

The following interactive lecture was first delivered to Phase 3 students in the summer teaching period of the Primary Care course, of the UNSW Medicine Program on Monday 13 January 2014. Length: 50 minutes Class size: up to ~ 80 Learners: senior medical students

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