Compass Immunology Clinic

05/03/2026

We’re delighted to welcome Dr Emily Shao, Dermatologist, to the Compass Immunology team.

Dr Shao has expertise in complex medical dermatology, skin cancer detection, paediatric dermatology, pigmentation disorders, and hair disorders. She trained at major Queensland hospitals and gained international experience at the National Skin Centre in Singapore.

She holds a Master of Public Health and a PhD focused on keratinocyte cancer in transplant recipients, completed through QIMR Berghofer. Her work has been recognized with the Trans‑Tasman Exchange Scholarship, and she continues to contribute to dermatology research and education.

Dr Shao also works publicly at The Prince Charles Hospital, caring for heart and lung transplant recipients, and is an Associate Lecturer at UQ.

She brings a thoughtful, evidence‑based, and compassionate approach to patient care. Outside of medicine, enjoys time with her young family, reading, and hunting for Brisbane’s best matcha latte.

We’re thrilled to have her join our multidisciplinary team.

02/03/2026

Coeliac Disease: Still Common, Still Missed

Coeliac disease affects 1 in 70 Australians, yet up to 80% of cases remain undiagnosed. Many people don’t realize their symptoms could be related to gluten and some have no gut symptoms at all.

What to look out for
Coeliac disease can cause:
- Abdominal pain
- Diarrhoea
- Unexplained weight loss
- Iron deficiency or B12 deficiency
- Mouth ulcers
- Osteopenia or osteoporosis
- Skin rashes such as dermatitis herpetiformis
- Fertility issues
- Neurological symptoms like tingling or balance problems
- In children: faltering growth, delayed puberty, abdominal pain

Important: Coeliac disease cannot be diagnosed with skin prick testing
Skin prick tests assess IgE‑mediated allergy, not autoimmune conditions like coeliac disease.

Diagnosis requires:
- Coeliac‑specific blood tests whilst you are still eating gluten
- And, in most adults and some children, a small bowel biopsy for confirmation

Food allergy and coeliac disease often overlap
People with food allergies have higher rates of coeliac disease. If you or your child has food allergies, it’s worth being aware of coeliac symptoms and discussing testing with your GP or allergist.

Why early diagnosis matters
Untreated coeliac disease can affect bone health, growth, fertility, liver function and long‑term wellbeing. After a clearly confirmed diagnosis, a strict gluten‑free diet is currently the only treatment, and support from an experienced dietitian makes a big difference.
https://coeliac.org.au/the-coeliac-australia-awareness-week/

26/02/2026

Making food allergy care accessible matters.

Supervised oral food challenges (OFCs) are the gold standard for diagnosing food allergy. They help patients and their families move from uncertainty to clarity — but right now in Australia, there is no Medicare item number to support this essential procedure.

This means families often face out‑of‑pocket costs, and clinics like ours absorb significant time and resources to keep care equitable and safe.

Compass Immunology strongly supports ASCIA’s application for an MBS item for supervised OFCs. Funding this service would reduce financial barriers for families, improve access across Australia, and support clinics delivering this complex, time‑intensive care.

Every patient deserves a timely, safe, and accessible allergy diagnosis.
We’re committed to that - and we’re hopeful for change.

If you would like the Health Minister, Mark Butler, to be aware of the need for a food challenge Medicare item number, please contact him here

Use this form to contact a health-related minister.

18/02/2026

Big update for parents starting solids!
ASCIA has released new guidance on infant feeding for food‑allergy prevention, and it reinforces something really important: early, regular exposure to common allergens can help reduce the risk of developing food allergies.

The updated recommendations highlight:
• introducing allergenic foods in the first year of life
• continuing them regularly once tolerated
• supporting families to introduce foods safely and confidently
• the strong evidence behind early peanut and egg introduction
• practical, realistic approaches for everyday feeding

If you’re starting solids or supporting families who are, this is a helpful, science‑backed resource that cuts through the noise.

The 2025 Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) Guideline: Infant Feeding for Food Allergy Prevention supersedes the 2016 ASCIA guideline. Key changes include specific recomm...

28/01/2026

We’re looking for a nurse to join our amazing team. If you know someone who would be a perfect fit, please pass this along.

Are you an experienced RN looking for a better lifestyle and keen to expand your skills in an exciting field? You will thrive in our friendly team.

10/11/2025

A Message to Our Compass Patients and Families

We understand that many of you have experienced difficulty reaching us recently and we want to sincerely acknowledge and apologise for that.
Over the past year, our team has been working through a significant pipeline of change behind the scenes. This includes moving to Best Practice (BP) for our clinical management system, introducing AutoMed for bookings and reminders, implementing secure online forms, and progressively automating many of our administrative workflows.
These upgrades are essential to improve your experience, ensuring safer data handling, better appointment visibility, and more efficient follow-up communication. However, these transitions take time, testing, and training to get right.
We know from your feedback that while our clinical care and specialist guidance remain exceptional, our communication processes haven’t always met the same standard. Please know that we are aware of this and are actively working to improve. We’ve recently employed additional staff to help manage patient enquiries and reduce response times.
The demand for our services continues to grow exponentially, and we now receive hundreds of emails and phone calls every day. Our team is doing their very best to respond to every patient as quickly and accurately as possible.
As a family-owned and operated clinic, our resources are finite. Every improvement we make must be implemented in a way that is financially sustainable, so we can continue to offer quality, specialist care to families for years to come.
We’re also developing a new and improved website that will include more information to help patients and families understand our services without needing to contact us directly. It will provide clear guidance about conditions, consultations, assessments, and treatment options, helping you to better research and prepare for your care journey with Compass.
Thank you for your ongoing patience, trust, and kindness toward our team as we move through this transition. Every change we’re making is designed to reduce delays, improve access, and make your care experience simpler and more connected.

James Gentle, GM Compass Immunology Clinic

10/09/2025

https://www.healthed.com.au/podcasts/managing-childhood-eczema-in-everyday-practice/

Educational Activities (EA)These are activities that expand general practice knowledge, skills and attitudes, related to your scope of practice.

20/08/2025

We're excited to share that access to our bookings has improved significantly—children's allergy appointments are now available with wait times as short as 1–2 weeks. Booking is quick and easy online: https://compass.clinic/forms/

06/08/2025

Omalizumab / Xolair update for patients

On Monday 4th August the Novartis pharmaceuticals, sponsor of Xolair, (a brand of omalizumab) changed the presentation of the medicine from a pre-filled syringe to an auto-pen. Unfortunately, this change has apparently not been well reflected in the PBS online system, which has problems for pharmacies to fulfill existing prescriptions, and difficulties for your doctors to prescribe new and continuation scripts.

We hope that this situation is rapidly remedied through the liaison of Novartis and the PBS.

If you need to get a script filled, please check with your pharmacist about the current situation.

There is also a different brand of omalizumab, trade name "Omlyclo" which is given as a prefilled syringe, and this brand may be available from pharmacies as an alternative to the new Xolair auto-pen.

We will help as much as possible, but please be aware that due to the issues with the PBS online system, delays for prescriptions may be expected until this is resolved. Thank you.

03/08/2025

We are open the morning of Ekka Wednesday (13th August) and appointments are available with Dr Ursula McCrann, Dr Krishanthi Ariyawansa and Dr Alan Nguyen. You can now book directly online through our website

24/04/2025

Has your allergy specialist recommended that you or your child have an oral food challenge, but you want to know more? If this is you, then join this FREE webinar!
Join leading paediatric immunology and allergy specialist, Dr Brynn Wainstein, and paediatric clinical nurse consultant, Merilyn McArthur, as they present on oral food challenges and what to expect.
The 35 minute webinar will cover:
• An overview of allergy tests.
• What is an oral food challenge?
• Why an oral food challenge?
• What to expect at an oral food challenge?
• What are the risks of an oral food challenge?
• How to prepare for an oral food challenge.
The presentation will be followed by a live question and answer session where you can have your general questions answered by Dr Brynn Wainstein and Merilyn McArthur. Please note individual medical advice cannot be given.
Event details:
💻 Oral food challenges webinar
🗓️ Date: Tuesday 6 May 2025
⏰ Time: 8:00pm AEST | 6:00pm AWT
📍 Where: Online on Zoom
Click here to register 👉 https://loom.ly/UIc1zYU
Can’t make the live webinar? Don’t worry, the webinar will be recorded, and an email will be sent to everyone that registers as soon as it’s available.

Has your allergy specialist recommended that you or your child have an oral food challenge, but you want to know more? If this is you, then join our FREE webinar!

Join leading paediatric immunology and allergy specialist, Dr Brynn Wainstein, and paediatric clinical nurse consultant, Merilyn McArthur, as they present on oral food challenges and what to expect.

The 35 minute webinar will cover:
• An overview of allergy tests.
• What is an oral food challenge?
• Why an oral food challenge?
• What to expect at an oral food challenge?
• What are the risks of an oral food challenge?
• How to prepare for an oral food challenge.

The presentation will be followed by a live question and answer session where you can have your general questions answered by Dr Brynn Wainstein and Merilyn McArthur. Please note individual medical advice cannot be given.

Event details:
💻 Oral food challenges webinar
🗓️ Date: Tuesday 6 May 2025
⏰ Time: 8:00pm AEST | 6:00pm AWT
📍 Where: Online on Zoom

Click here to register 👉 https://loom.ly/UIc1zYU

Can’t make the live webinar? Don’t worry, the webinar will be recorded, and an email will be sent to everyone that registers as soon as it’s available.

24/04/2025

Has your allergy specialist recommended that you or your child have an oral food challenge, but you want to know more? If this is you, then join our FREE webinar!

Join leading paediatric immunology and allergy specialist, Dr Brynn Wainstein, and paediatric clinical nurse consultant, Merilyn McArthur, as they present on oral food challenges and what to expect.

The 35 minute webinar will cover:
• An overview of allergy tests.
• What is an oral food challenge?
• Why an oral food challenge?
• What to expect at an oral food challenge?
• What are the risks of an oral food challenge?
• How to prepare for an oral food challenge.

The presentation will be followed by a live question and answer session where you can have your general questions answered by Dr Brynn Wainstein and Merilyn McArthur. Please note individual medical advice cannot be given.

Event details:
💻 Oral food challenges webinar
🗓️ Date: Tuesday 6 May 2025
⏰ Time: 8:00pm AEST | 6:00pm AWT
📍 Where: Online on Zoom

Click here to register 👉 https://loom.ly/UIc1zYU

Can’t make the live webinar? Don’t worry, the webinar will be recorded, and an email will be sent to everyone that registers as soon as it’s available.