Mandatory reporting for sex, not drunkenness
GETTING drunk outside of work hours doesn’t necessarily deserve a mandatory report but sex with a patient after you’ve ended the professional relationship possibly does.
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Mandatory reporting
The following articles have the tag Mandatory reporting
Report sex with patients, not inebriation
GETTING drunk outside of work hours doesn’t necessarily deserve a mandatory report, but sex with a patient after you’ve ended the professional relationship possibly does.
Driving threat with sleep apnoea
SOUTH Australians with symptoms of a sleep disorder may try to avoid diagnosis because of legislation forcing doctors to report those deemed unfit to drive, research suggests.
Medical board to fund doctors’ health programs
DOCTORS have welcomed the Medical Board of Australia’s (MBA) move to fund external health services, but called for greater assurance about whether it would fund existing or new services and whether that would result in mandatory reporting.
MBA to foot the bill for doctors’ health programs
THE Medical Board of Australia (MBA) has announced it will fund health programs especially for doctors, responding to demands it should take a more proactive approach to ensure practitioners are in prime shape to treat patients.
Tribunal slaps alcohol ban on NSW GP
A GP who failed to tell medical authorities about convictions for drink driving, driving disqualified and breaching an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) has been banned from drinking alcohol completely.
Mandatory notifications leap in Qld, NT and ACT
AHPRA is closely monitoring health practitioners in Queensland, the Northern Territory and the ACT after the regions delivered a dramatic spike in mandatory notifications last year, it emerged yesterday.
Mandatory reporting confusing: MDOs
MEDICAL defence organisations (MDOs) have complained that mandatory reporting laws covering doctors treating colleagues remain unclear, while the Medical Board of Australia has moved to reassure practitioners that reporting thresholds are high.
Board reassures doctors on mandatory reporting
THE Medical Board of Australia has moved to reassure doctors still concerned about mandatory reporting laws, hinting that some doctors remain unclear about when it is appropriate to notify authorities about a colleague.
Mandatory reporting risk after court ruling
THE Medical Board of Australia’s mandatory reporting laws are once again under the microscope after a landmark ruling found doctors who report colleagues to authorities can be sued for defamation despite being legally obliged to do so.
Questions on mandatory reporting after defamation decision
Medico-legal experts will be reassessing mandatory reporting laws after a court ruled a doctor was entitled to sue her colleague for defamation after he reported her to the authorities.
Colleague reports ‘ridiculous’
AUSTRALIAN GPs, still coming to terms with mandatory reporting, have been urged to seek advice before sounding the alarm on a colleague, after medico-legal experts flagged a rise in “ridiculous” reports. Medical Indemnity Protection Society medico-legal adviser Dr Rob Walters said medical defence organisations (MDOs) were fielding inappropriate reports that would not have occurred before the introduction of the new requirements. Mandatory reporting laws stipulate doctors must report colleagues who are impaired or engaging in professional misconduct to the relevant branch of the Medical Board of Australia. But many are confused as to what this means ...
Proposal to deny self-referrers Medicare
DOCTORS’ health experts have dismissed suggestions that blocking access to Medicare rebates for doctors who refer themselves for investigations and specialist consults would encourage them to visit their own GP instead. Writing in the MJA, retired gastroenterologist Dr Kerry Breen, who helped establish the Victorian Doctors Health Program, argued that denying doctors rebates in these circumstances could deter them from self-referring. He noted that estimates indicated that during their career up to 15% of doctors would become ill in ways that led to impairment, such as mental illness and drug dependency. Despite the high numbers, many did ...
Mandatory reporting puts GPs off seeking help: poll
MANDATORY reporting is causing GPs to think twice about seeking help, a poll by MO reveals. The recent national poll of 150 GPs found 53% were less likely to seek help from another GP or advice line as a result of mandatory reporting, while just 15% of respondents believed mandatory reporting would not negatively affect their decision to seek help or counselling if required. Since the introduction of mandatory reporting laws last year in all states other than WA, doctors are now obliged to report impaired health practitioners who could be putting patients at risk ...
Mandatory reporting laws to be reviewed
IN A win for doctors, mandatory reporting requirements that force doctors to dob in their peers will be given a second look, following an announcement by state and federal health ministers. At a meeting last Friday, the ministers agreed to ask the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) to commission independent work on mandatory reporting requirements. Currently, the unpopular requirements force all health professionals to report colleagues to the Medical Board of Australia for having a sexual relationship with a patient, practising under the influence of alcohol or other drugs, or for practice that significantly departs from ...
Call for unfit driver reporting law
DOCTORS should be obligated by law to report patients to licensing authorities if they continue to drive having been told they are medically unfit to do so, a Victorian coroner has argued. The recommendation has found support among GPs, who contend they have an ethical duty to do so. Coroner Gerard Bryant made the recommendation in his findings into the 2006 death of Scott Peoples. Mr Peoples, 20, was cycling on the Maroondah Highway when Kenneth Blay hit him from behind. Mr Blay had experienced a stroke three years earlier that had left him with a ...
Doctors reluctant to report peers
DOUBTS have been cast on the effectiveness of mandatory reporting systems, after a US study revealed that more than a third of medical practitioners are not committed to reporting impaired or incompetent colleagues. A survey of almost 3000 physicians revealed that only 64% agreed they should report all instances of significant impairment or incompetence. Of the 17% who had witnessed reportable misconduct, only 67% of those had reported it to the appropriate authority. The main reasons for not taking action included the belief that someone else was taking care of the problem, the belief that nothing would ...
Practising with nurse practitioners
With expanded prescribing rights and access to the MBS coming up later this year for nurse practitioners, Amanda Sheppeard reports on some of the issues practices should consider.
Driving change
Draft guidelines on assessing fitness to drive may make life a little easier for GPs, but some experts say they need to go much further. Caroline Brettingham-Moore reports.
National registration: the road ahead
CHANGES are afoot with national registration. Amanda Sheppeard reports on how national laws will affect advertising and mandatory reporting regulations.
Doctor substance abuse higher in NSW, SA
NSW and SA have the highest rates of substance abuse among doctors, an expert says. Around one in 200 doctors in the two states has been referred to their medical boards in the past five years, compared with a national average of one in 360. WA and Queensland had the lowest rates, according to Dr Kevin Sleigh, a consultant occupational physician from Victoria. Speaking at the World Congress of Internal Medicine in Melbourne last week, he presented data on 212 impaired doctors reported to medical boards between 2005 and 2009. The number of reported cases ...
Dob-in law will ‘do more harm than good’
THE health of GPs and patients will be put at risk by the very law designed to protect them from impaired practitioners, doctors warn as Queensland readies itself for new mandatory reporting rules. Amendments to the Medical Practitioners Registration Act 2001, due for introduction in the Queensland Parliament last week, would force doctors to report colleagues who are intoxicated or who they believe are practising in a way that departs from accepted standards. Other jurisdictions are preparing to adopt similar legislation as part of the national registration and accreditation scheme, due to start on 1 July 2010. ...
GP deregistration sparks ‘guillotine’ law debate
THE case of a Sydney GP who was deregistered when he failed to attend for drug testing, because his wife was in labour, has led to renewed calls for amendments to NSW legislation mandating automatic deregistration for doctors who breach a medical board order. The case is the first instance in which the so-called “guillotine provision” has been invoked, following its introduction last year alongside tough new mandatory reporting laws. Dural GP Dr Jason Jefferson Martin was deregistered for four months for breaching a critical compliance order. He failed to provide a urine sample for drug testing ...
More harm than good?
GP groups have banded together to stop the “immeasurable damage” being done by NT underage sex reporting laws. Kate Woods reports. SHE is 15 years old, in a steady relationship and wants to begin taking the oral contraceptive pill. As with most young teenagers, she finds talking to any adult about sex embarrassing and awkward. When she finally sums up enough courage to visit her GP, he turns and warns her that she may face police investigation if she gives any indication she is sexually active. Her mind spins and she mutters something ...
NT Government amends sex reporting laws
FOLLOWING intense lobbying by doctors and community groups, the Northern Territory Parliament has amended controversial laws forcing health professionals to report any child or adolescent they suspected of engaging in underage sex. The Care and Protection of Children Act 2007 was last week amended to end mandatory reporting of consensual sex between 14 and 15 year olds with a similarly aged partner. Doctors must continue to report underage sex where there is more than two years’ age difference between partners. NT health professionals actively campaigned against the original laws on the grounds they would irreparably damage ...
Inquiry backs limits on Govt role in training standards
A SENATE inquiry has urged the Federal Government to consider reining in plans that will empower health ministers to intervene in setting standards for doctors’ education and training. But hopes that the inquiry would recommend watering down planned mandatory reporting laws for doctors haven’t been realised. Both measures have been proposed as part of the controversial national registration and accreditation scheme. The Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee’s inquiry has been considering views on the scheme, outlined in the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Bill recently introduced to the Queensland Parliament. Once passed in Queensland, it is ...
Call to arms to fight national registration
PROFESSIONAL groups are urging doctors to step up their opposition to the controversial national registration and accreditation scheme, arguing it is not too late to win important concessions. The scheme will introduce strict new regulations for 10 health professions – including medicine – by mid-2010. It will also impose national mandatory reporting laws compelling doctors to report colleagues they suspect of practising under the influence of drugs or alcohol, engaging in sexual misconduct with a patient or practising in a way that departs from accepted professional standards. However, given that the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law ...
Mandatory reporting blamed for suicide
THE tragic suicide of a doctor too fearful to seek help from colleagues has renewed serious concerns about the unintended consequences of mandatory reporting laws. The doctor took his own life in December last year, and Medical Observer has learned that within his suicide note, he specifically blamed mandatory reporting laws as preventing him from turning to colleagues for support or advice. Currently, legislation obliging doctors to report their colleagues for professional misconduct is only in force in NSW. But the draft Health Practitioner Regulation National Law proposes to roll this out nationally from July ...
Whistleblowing doctors 'need to be protected'
DOCTORS are calling for new measures to protect the identity of practitioners who report their colleagues in the wake of the public backlash surrounding the suspension of Tasmanian GP Dr Paul McGinity. Dr McGinity was twice suspended this year by the Medical Council of Tasmania, following 23 complaints from local GPs and hospital doctors. The move outraged the Scottsdale community, who held demonstrations on his behalf. According to Dr George Cerchez, who notified the Medical Council of 10 incidents, he and others were subjected to a barrage of personal attacks and claims of vested interests. ...
Doctor lawsuit could reshape mandatory reporting laws
THE scope of mandatory reporting laws is set to be tested in NSW by a case in which a woman is suing her uncle, an anaesthetist, for allegedly failing to report her sexual abuse to authorities. Though specifically related to mandatory reporting of child abuse, experts suggest it could affect the interpretation of national laws on mandatory reporting of colleagues, set to be introduced in 2010. The woman is arguing once her uncle learned about the abuse, his alleged failure to report it to authorities constituted a breach of his statutory duty as a medical practitioner under ...
Doctors given wake-up call over standards control fight
POLITICIANS are a step closer to winning the tussle over who controls the standards and requirements for medical education and training, with the release of the draft legislation that has been staunchly – but unsuccessfully – opposed by medical groups. Doctor groups are now urging all professionals to fight the legislation before it becomes law. The legislation – to be passed by individual states and territories – is expected to hit the Queensland Parliament in August. The draft Health Practitioner Regulation National Law outlines how a council of federal, state and territory health ministers will hold powers ...
Hide or seek help?
Impaired GPs are being driven underground by the system, and mandatory reporting may worsen the problem. Dr Ginni Mansberg reports. IT TAKES a lot for someone to head to their GP and admit to a problem with drugs or alcohol. It’s even harder when you’re a doctor confessing to a colleague. This difficulty is being seen in the statistics. According to Cheryl Wile, a psychologist with the Victorian Doctors Health Program (VDHP), there has been a decrease in reported substance abuse problems in that state. And it’s a story she hears repeated consistently when ...
Mandatory reporting laws are expected to go national
A NATIONAL rollout of mandatory reporting laws and criminal checks appears inevitable, after all state and territory health ministers last week agreed to include them in the national registration and accreditation scheme. However, a glimmer of hope remains that the controversial structure of the scheme – which would give ministers ultimate control of setting professional education competencies and standards – may be amended. Following last Thursday’s meeting, the Australian Health Ministers’ Conference said it had made progress on safety measures to deliver important protection to patients. The anticipated national mandatory reporting laws – likely to mirror ...
‘Dob in’ law a backwards step: docs
LAWS forcing doctors to dob in colleagues suspected of causing harm to patients are rolling out across Australia as Queensland looks set to become the second state to legislate mandatory reporting. However, moves to introduce a state law – which will be superseded in 19 months by stricter rules in the national registration and accreditation scheme – have been criticised as a knee-jerk reaction to scandals involving doctors in the state. The mandatory reporting clause forms part of the Health and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2008, which was read in Queensland Parliament last week. It will make ...
Dobbing dilemma
NSW will soon have mandatory reporting laws, and other states may follow shortly. But, as Elizabeth McIntosh and Shannon McKenzie report, the critics say they are still unclear. AFTER months of fierce debate – and despite vocal objections from doctors – NSW’s controversial laws on mandatory reporting will come into force next week. Passed on 4 June this year, the Medical Practice Amendment Act 2008 now places a legal obligation on all NSW medical practitioners to report their colleagues’ misconduct to the state medical board. The NSW government maintains the ...
Doctors criticise sudden spread of mandatory reporting laws
GPs will be caught up in new mandatory reporting laws planned for Queensland, which are likely to mirror the controversial system adopted in NSW. The announcement from state health minister Stephen Robertson comes as the Health Quality and Complaints Commission released a damning report into services at Mackay Base Hospital, which revealed patients’ lives had been put at risk through the work of the overseas-trained doctor, Dr Abdalla Khalafalla. The findings are a further blow to the Queensland health department, which is still dealing with the fallout of the Bundaberg Hospital scandal involving former surgeon Jayant Patel, currently facing 14 charges including manslaughter. Mr Robertson ...
Doctor hearings go public and lose peer review
MANDATORY reporting measures ushered in by the NSW government are likely to turn Professional Standards Committee hearings into kangaroo courts, experts have warned. Under the NSW Medical Practice Amendment Act – which compels professionals to report each other for misconduct – the committee’s hearings will no longer be peer-led or confidential. Instead, they will be chaired by a lawyer and all findings will be public, yet doctors fronting them will not have legal representation. Implementation of the system – for which a date is yet to be set – will be watched closely by other states. ...
Education scrutiny escalates pharma fines
NEW requirements for mandatory reporting of pharmaceutical company involvement in medical educational events has seen fines handed out by Medicines Australia more than double in 12 months. Figures released in the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct Annual Report show a rise from $695,000 in 2006-07 to $1.65 million in 2007-08. The total number of fines also rose from 19 to 33 in the same period. Chief executive Ian Chalmers said the spike had been caused by the new reporting requirements which came into force in mid-2007. “We have not had a mechanism ...
Law to force docs to dob in peers
DOCTORS across the country could be forced to turn informer on their colleagues, following widespread concerns about system failures to police rogue practitioners. The NSW government is spearheading radical new legislation that will make it compulsory for medical practitioners to report their colleagues’ misconduct, with other states, including Queensland and Tasmania, confirming they may follow suit. However, a lack of detail on penalties for failing to report or how far the legislation will go has left grassroots GPs feeling concerned about the future ( see vox pops ). The move follows revelations that former NSW obstetrician ...