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The following articles have the tag RACGP
FREEZING Medicare rebates, targeting MBS double-dipping, and capping tax-deductible CPD costs claimed by doctors are all part of sweeping savings measures in the federal budget.
PRACTICES anxious to meet today’s personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) deadline have inundated their software providers with inquiries as the RACGP holds workshops around the country explaining the new system.
MAJOR GP groups have blasted AHPRA for huge increases in registration fees and unacceptably long complaint resolution times.
THOUSANDS of international medical graduates (IMGs) would no longer face limited registration and largely skip the administrative hurdle of dealing with the Australian Medical Council (AMC) under a systemic overhaul proposed by the Medical Board of Australia.
THE RACGP will this week begin the first of 200 peer-to-peer seminars aimed at increasing GP confidence in the government’s personally controlled e-health record system (PCEHR).
GPs came a step closer to receiving Medicare rebates for enrolling and coordinating treatment of patients with chronic diseases last week when Health Minister Tanya Plibersek said she would consider the RACGP’s long-awaited ‘medical home’ proposal.
A UNIFIED call by doctors’ groups for a 54% increase in federally funded GP training places has been brushed aside by the federal government.
GENERAL practice groups have called for a 54% increase in the overall number of federally funded GP training places and urged corporate practice operators to take on a greater training role.
THE impasse over the ability of GPs to collectively set fees within the same practice has finally been resolved, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission formally giving the AMA authorisation to let practitioners agree on what they charge patients.
THE impasse over the ability of GPs to collectively set fees within the same practice has finally been resolved, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission formally giving the AMA authorisation to let practitioners agree on what they charge patients.
MBS rebates for chronic disease management need overhauling to allow GPs to spend enough time with those patients, says the RACGP.
THE chief health profession’s regulator has moved to reassure GPs about plans to introduce staged revalidation, suggesting that although continuing professional development (CPD) may need improvement, any significant changes are years away.
INDIGENOUS health will be the focus of what is understood to be an Australian-first private general practice model soon to open its doors in the Queensland city of Bundaberg.
DOCTORS have one last chance to have their say on a controversial project by Health Workforce Australia that could pave the way for many more non-medical health professionals to prescribe medications.
MBS rebates for chronic disease management need overhauling to allow GPs to spend enough time with those patients, says the RACGP.
PRESCRIBING of opioid medications for chronic non-malignant pain is haphazard in general practice, with few GPs complying with best practice, a study has found.
THE RACGP has backed calls for more funding for community mental health nurses after a review found they had strong GP support, were effective and saved money. In last year’s budget, the government closed the Mental Health Nurse Incentive Program (MHNIP) to new participants pending a review, prompting concerns the decision would cause a shortage of mental health nurses in crucial areas – including in parts of Victoria affected by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires where many had been employed. But the health department evaluation, quietly released on Christmas Eve, said “patients being supported under MHNIP are ...
THE RACGP has backed calls for more funding for community mental health nurses after a review found they had strong GP support, were effective and saved money.
FORMER RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell has been recognised, along with a select list of his medical colleagues, in the 2013 Australia Day honours.
THE RACGP has warned GPs need better training to identify and treat patients suffering domestic abuse and violence.
AS MOST of Australia swelters today in heatwave conditions – with many uncontained bushfires already burning – the role of GPs in looking after their communities is vital, RACGP president Dr Liz Marles has said.
THE RACGP has urged practices to be vigilant about their computer security following the recent hacking of patient records at a Queensland clinic by Russian cyber-criminals.
A DRAFT decision by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to allow GPs in single practices to set practice prices and collectively bargain has been welcomed by the AMA, after the peak doctor’s body made the application to the competition watchdog.
REGISTRATIONS for the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) are steadily rising, with at least one major GP software firm on track for GPs to be able to upload patient health data by December.
REGISTRATIONS for the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) are steadily rising, with at least one major GP software firm on track for GPs to be able to upload patient health data by December.
AUSTRALIA’S high rate of GPs keeping electronic patient records has declined since 2009 and Australia lags behind other countries in terms of electronic exchange of patient summaries with doctors in other practices, new research shows.
THE Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) has criticised the RACGP’s revamped Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) course, arguing its duration and online platform are inadequate.
GPs prescribing opioid medication for pain should ensure they have an explicit contract with their patients, say experts launching a new online learning resource.
MEDICARE Locals newly saddled with the administration of after hours services are taking a novel approach to the federal government’s move to scrap after hours Practice Incentive Program payments (PIPs) – making the payments themselves.
GPs in regional cities and outer metropolitan areas are preparing to scale back their telehealth services – including one scheme to get regional children seen by city hospital specialists – after the federal government unexpectedly cut access to Medicare rebates.
HEALTH Minister Tanya Plibersek has allocated $2.55 million for an RACGP-run program to help GPs operate the PCEHR.
A MOTION calling for the RACGP to further develop standards for the supervision of IMGs has been unanimously passed this morning at the college’s GP12 conference on the Gold Coast.
DOCTORS have called on the government to place an embargo on new international medical graduates entering Australia until it provides adequate support during their practice, training and accreditation.
GP price setting is set to go before the peak general practice body, United General Practice Australia, as the RACGP and the AMA seek to resolve the issue once and for all.
AN AMA plan to give its member GPs the right to agree on prices within a practice would undermine GP morale, reduce continuity of care and potentially decrease patient access to care, the RACGP has warned.
AN AMA plan to give its member GPs the right to agree on prices within a practice would undermine GP morale, reduce continuity of care and potentially decrease patient access to care, the RACGP has warned.
THE Commonwealth and state governments remain at a stalemate over provision of funding for 182 international medical student intern places after two weeks of negotiations between the parties failed to finalise a deal.
THE Commonwealth and state governments remain at a stalemate over provision of funding for 182 international medical student intern places after two weeks of negotiations between the parties failed to finalise a deal.
The RACGP and the AMA are at odds over national competition law, after the college last week vowed to oppose the association’s push to give its members exclusive rights to collectively set prices.
GPs are feeling “insulted” by the lack of information they are receiving about the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) and related incentives, despite the health department’s pledge to promote the new system.
THOUSANDS of non-AMA GPs could be exposed to prosecution by the nation’s powerful competition watchdog as the association seeks permission to give members the exclusive right to set prices within a practice.
HEALTH commentators have urged GPs to remain alert to the diagnosis of autism despite a tightening up of criteria for the condition.
THE RACGP has paid tribute to prominent GP academic Professor Marjan Kljakovic, who died in Canberra last week.
SYDNEY GP and sitting RACGP vice president Dr Liz Marles will become the next head of the RACGP after winning the college’s 2012 presidential election.
THE release of a new set of clinical indicators from the RACGP has sparked fresh debate over whether GPs are getting “indicator burnout” from the growing list of “flowcharts… guidelines and care protocols”.
CLAIMS that the number of men developing metastatic prostate cancer would be trebled in the absence of widespread PSA testing have been treated with caution by an RACGP spokesman.
THE release of a new set of clinical indicators from the RACGP has sparked fresh debate over whether GPs are getting “indicator burnout” from the growing list of “flowcharts… guidelines and care protocols”.
THE government has defended its investment in GP teaching in the face of AMA and RACGP demands to double the incentive payment for practices that teach medical students.
A HIGH profile GP-naturopath who had her registration suspended for failing to refer a patient for a mammogram will have her registration back provided she undergoes extensive retraining in traditional medicine.
DOCTORS’ groups are determined to make the best of the government’s e-health records system and have poured cold water on opposition calls for a national audit.
The government has been urged to focus its attention on developing secure messaging systems for GPs and other doctors in the wake of last week’s jittery e-health records system launch.
MO asks the experts for their opinions on a key political issue making headlines.
The RACGP has released a provisional set of 22 clinical performance indicators for general practice, but has stressed GPs and practices will be free to choose whether or not to implement them.
GPs have backed a senior mental health campaigner who has called for MBS rebates for physical health checks for patients with severe mental illness.
SYDNEY based GP Dr Liz Marles and Perth GP Dr Mike Civil have been confirmed as the only candidates to nominate to take over from current president Associate Professor Claire Jackson when she steps down in October.
THE long-awaited launch date for the government’s e-health records system passed by on the weekend, meaning patients can now register for a record, but doctors’ groups and MDOs have advised GPs to tread cautiously.
CAMPAIGNING has begun in earnest just days before polls open for the RACGP presidential election, with the stage looking set for a showdown between two senior college figures.
DOCTORS’ groups and MDOs are ready to endorse the government’s e-health records contract almost three months after MO’s report about the first draft of the contract sparked outrage across the profession.
A campaign is soon to be launched calling for an overhaul of the PSR system and establishment of a new “independent professional body” to develop clinical protocols GPs can refer to when interpreting MBS item descriptors.
DOCTORS' groups and MDOs are ready to endorse the government’s e-health records contract almost three months after MO’s report on the first draft of the contract sparked outrage across the profession.
THE government has assured consumers the national e-health record system would feature “bank-strength” security, but grudgingly admitted online registration has been scrapped, as its e-health legislation passed the Senate last night.
A HEALTH department backdown has freed GPs of liability for “compromised or hacked” e-health records but the government is still demanding GPs obtain permission from the author of every document they upload to the system before doing so.
GPs will collect continuing professional development (CPD) points for completing training in the new-look children’s health checks, but will not be pressured to diagnose or meet arbitrary quotas, GP leaders have said.
The health department is still at odds with GP groups over conditions it expects practices to sign up to in order to participate in the national e-health record system, almost two months after its first draft caused outrage across the profession.
GPs’ right to share crucial patient information has been reaffirmed after a NSW Rural Doctors Network-run practice defeated a privacy complaint concerning two doctors who viewed a patient’s test results without her explicit consent.
THE government will bar GPs who don’t participate in the personally controlled electronic health record system from receiving e-health PIP payments, while stripping money from the existing telehealth incentive program to fund it.
GP groups have cautiously welcomed the appointment of former NSW Health deputy director-general Dr Richard Matthews as GPET chair, replacing outgoing chair Professor Simon Willcock.
THE health department has rejected suggestions it has been anything but “clear and unequivocal” about funding arrangements for GPs compiling PCEHR records, as doctors’ groups continue to question the details.
THE search is on to find some of Australia’s best GPs with the official opening of nominations for the RACGP Awards 2012.
THE RACGP is standing firm on its accreditation standards for after hours services despite concerns practices risk losing accreditation and associated incentive payments once Medicare Locals take over the service.
THE federal government’s inquiry into the therapeutic place of dabigatran and other new anticoagulants has attracted mixed expert views, but a broad consensus that the existing therapy is “problematic” and that steps are needed to improve patient outcomes.
GPs have been assured that recent media speculation that development of new performance management indicators will lead to pay-for-performance funding for general practice is completely unsubstantiated.
TWO weeks after Health Minister Tanya Plibersek announced MBS items would be available for doctors working with e-health records, there appears to be still no clear message from the minister or health department about how the new system will work.
TWO weeks after Health Minister Tanya Plibersek announced MBS items would be available for doctors working with e-health records, there appears to be still no clear message from the minister or health department about how the new system will work.
INTERNATIONAL medical graduates (IMGs) and GP groups have been given a new weapon in their ongoing fight against the 10-year moratorium, with the release last week of a report into the training and support of IMGs.
THE major parties have staked out Queensland general practice as a key battleground in this weekend’s state election, as AMA Queensland laments the focus on “personality politics” over policy debate.
HEALTH Workforce Australia (HWA) has completed a much-anticipated report on its national training plan and will present the results, which experts say will deliver the most detailed picture of Australia’s general practice workforce ever produced, to health ministers next month.
With the launch date for the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR) looming, Mark O’Brien asks RACGP e-health spokesperson Dr Mike Civil to unpick some myths and false expectations.
THE race for the 2012 RACGP presidency has begun with current vice-president Dr Liz Marles and college Standards Committee chair Dr Mike Civil announcing they will each be nominating for the position.
TWENTY-two rural and remote doctors have begun the journey to fellowship with the 2012 Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS), after a record number of applications for places were lodged last year.
The AMA has issued a blunt warning to the government over a project underway by Health Workforce Australia (HWA) that may see broadened prescribing rights granted to nurse practitioners, podiatrists, physiotherapists, optometrists and other health professionals.
REGISTRATION costs for GPs could rise by $25 to $695 a year in order to fund a national doctors’ health program under a new proposal by state and federal health ministers.
A CABINET reshuffle is being seen as an opportunity for new Health Minister Tanya Plibersek and the government to back away from the 1 July deadline for the introduction of a personally controlled e-health record (PCEHR).
AFTER a busy year for general practice, RACGP president Professor Claire Jackson predicts 2012 will be even busier, although hopefully filled with more good news than recent times have delivered the profession.
THE RACGP has called for the federal government to hold “continued consultations” with GPs about slashing mental health rebates after a pivotal Senate report failed to make any unanimous recommendation about the move.
AUSTRALIA’S medical graduates are already a hot commodity, but with 40% of currently practising GPs aged 55 years or older, there is a growing desperation to steer more of those graduates toward careers in general practice. The problem, according to General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA) CEO Amit Vohra, is that nobody is really sure how to do that. “There is very little research available into the attitudes of generation Y doctors-in-training and the best ways to communicate a message to them,” Mr Vohra said. ...
NEW standards for video consultations and information security have been released by the RACGP, giving GPs a framework to apply to the Medicare telehealth item numbers launched in July. The college launched its new Standards for Video Consultations and Computer and Information Security Standards yesterday at the GP11 conference in Hobart. In the absence of standards to abide by since the launch of the MBS items for telehealth, GPs had been advised by Medicare to simply ensure they were confident their method of delivering the service was capable of providing secure, reliable and ...
THE heated debate about PSA testing is set to intensify, with plans underway to develop a consensus document offering Australia’s first national advice on early detection of prostate cancer. Cancer Australia CEO Dr Helen Zorbas said experts and key stakeholders would be consulted to develop evidence-based advice and “the NHMRC would be involved in the process”. “Cancer Australia... undertakes regular surveillance and monitoring of the cancer research evidence to develop advice and inform practice and policy,” Dr Zorbas told MO. “Consistent with this activity, we will review and analyse the evidence about early detection of prostate cancer.” ...
VIDEO Dr Ginni Mansberg interviews both uro-oncologist Professor Declan Murphy and Professor Chris Del Mar of the RACGP about the current debate over PSA testing... THE RACGP stands accused of scaremongering as doctors continue to trade salvos over the recent bid by pathologists to enter the debate on PSA testing. Uro-oncologist Associate Professor Declan Murphy last week condemned “emotive language” used by the RACGP in defending its stand against prostate cancer screening of asymptomatic men. RACGP spokesman Professor Chris ...
MO spends 5 minutes with DR MIKE CIVIL Chair, RACGP Telehealth Taskforce... If you could cure one disease in your lifetime, which one would it be? Diabetes. The massive burden and prevalence of this chronic disease means that a cure would have a significant impact on so many other chronic diseases. What philosophical principle strongly informs the work you do? The desire to honestly improve a patient’s quality of life by engaging with them in a position of trust and support. The opportunity to educate ...
GPs face increasingly conflicted advice on vitamin D testing, with specialists suggesting broader screening while government authorities are clamping down on pathology orders.
PATHOLOGISTS have reignited the debate on prostate cancer screening with a position statement the RACGP believes gives “implicit approval” for asymptomatic men to seek PSA testing.
IN AN age where our teenage children can download movies off super-fast broadband Internet connections, you could be forgiven for thinking that the progress in general practice computerisation has been inch by inch. But is this still the case? Over the past few years, I have travelled to many different general practices as part of my role as an Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited (AGPAL) surveyor and I have seen the progress away from paper-based records, to hybrid (paper and computer), to (finally) fully computerised medical records. It is happening… We now have MBS ...
THE RACGP has criticised a new reminder system for annual screening of women with a history of gestational diabetes as onerous and lacking evidence to support it. The National Gestational Diabetes Register, which came into operation on 1 July, will send a letter to GPs notifying them if their patients have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). GPs will also be sent a reminder 12–16 weeks after the patient gives birth that it is time to have a glucose tolerance test (GTT), and then an annual letter reminding the GP to do an annual diabetes screen. ...
GPs have been given clearer guidelines for entering into collaborative care agreements with nurse practitioners, but questions remain over the medico-legal ramifications. The RACGP yesterday launched its finalised collaboration guide following months of consultation. But while the college hoped the template agreements and advice would provide clearer instructions for GPs, RACGP president Professor Claire Jackson said the guidelines remained a “living document” that would be revised in the future, based on ongoing GP feedback. Professor Jackson said the college decided after consultation with medical indemnity organisations to focus on the clinical implications of the agreements and leave ...
A LACK of technical and clinical standards for telehealth consultations could delay GP uptake of the technology despite lucrative Government incentives, experts say. The Government last week unveiled a suite of new MBS rebates that will see GPs outside inner-metropolitan areas paid to sit with patients while they consult a specialist via webcam. The new item numbers attract a 35% loading on top of the rebates for standard time-based consultations, as well as a $40 incentive payment and an additional $20 incentive if the consultation is bulk-billed. These incentives will be scaled back over the scheme’s ...
THE Government will soon pay GPs $6000 to set up video-conferencing equipment, and another $40 each time they assist during a patient's telehealth session with a consulting specialist. The incentive payments will be available from 1 July for practitioners who attend the telehealth consultation at the patient end, when the consultation takes place outside the "inner-metropolitan" centres or in a residential aged care facility or an Aboriginal medical service. RACGP telehealth standards working group member Dr Nathan Pinskier said while it was encouraging to see telehealth being given priority, there were a number of issues for GPs ...
FEDERAL Parliament has been urged to seek savings in programs such as the GP super clinics and Medicare Locals in order to save rebates for GP mental health plans which were slashed significantly in the recent Budget. In a letter to all Federal MPs and senators, the AMA has today requested the rebate cuts be axed, arguing that the decision was made with no prior consultation with the profession and would undermine the Government’s own push to bolster mental health services. The letter came as Mental Health Minister Mark Butler today repeated his claims that GPs were ...
“WHO’S your GP?” That’s the question being asked by the RACGP and the General Practice Registrars Association (GPRA), which have renewed their campaign to encourage Australians to have their own GP. College president Professor Claire Jackson said today’s World Family Doctor Day – an initiative of the World Organization of Family Doctors (Wonca) – provided a great opportunity to highlight the significant contribution of GPs in Australia and around the world. “There are many benefits to having an ongoing relationship with a GP, which is built on trust, and provides continuity of comprehensive and coordinated healthcare,” ...
In the battle for the Budget, Byron Kaye looks at this year’s top priorities.
ACCREDITATION agencies are warning that over-burdened GPs may “opt out” of accreditation due to growing time burdens under the new standards and uncertainty over the future of Practice Incentives Program (PIP) payments. From July, practices will be measured against the 4th edition of the RACGP Standards for General Practices. However, GPA Accreditation Plus managing director Dr Paul Mara said some practices may feel the benefits of the PIP payments, which practices can access only after meeting the standards, may not be worth the additional cost and effort involved. Dr Mara warned additional requirements in the newest ...
THE RACGP is being sued for $1 million by a former employee who has alleged the college failed to protect her from persistent bullying by a former colleague. In a statement of claim obtained by Medical Observer, Heather Klaebe alleges that she was subject to such severe harassment that it caused her psychiatric injury. Ms Klaebe’s lawyer, John Karantzis, a partner of the firm Nowicki Carbone, said it would be alleged his client was so distressed she resorted to self-harm. Mr Karantzis alleged that from April 2006 to January 2007 his client was harassed by the ...
HAVING experienced Christchurch’s last major earthquake in September last year, Dr Chris Mitchell has no doubts GPs will help “galvanise” the city as it faces the trials of rebuilding. The former RACGP president hasn’t returned to the city since he attended the annual scientific meeting of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners at the time the previous earthquake hit. “The devastation we’re seeing now – it’s just such a huge human tragedy, particularly for a town that was busy rebuilding itself. To have a second knock is very hard,” he said. “[The 2010 Christchurch ...
ALL GP-facilitated telehealth consultations should be eligible for an MBS rebate, doctors’ groups argue, not just those that take place in rural and remote settings. Beginning 1 July this year, the rebates are part of a $352 million budget initiative to provide rebates to GPs and specialists to conduct video-linked, telephone or online consultations for patients in rural, remote and outer metropolitan locations. The rebates were part of the 2010 federal budget and will be overseen by the Federal Health Department. Under the proposed model, GPs would need to be present during most consultations and would ...
GPs in doubt over how to interpret the MBS should be calling the RACGP and the AMA, according to advice from a senior Health Department official. The news has come as a surprise to both professional bodies, who have argued that providing such information has never been part of their role. The advice was given to Queensland GP Dr Scott Masters by Rose Ross, the director of the Medicare Integrity Section within the Department’s Medicare Benefits Branch, after Dr Masters requested advice on the appropriateness of claiming several MBS items. Ms Ross’s advice was based on ...
The RACGP has encouraged GPs to delay entering into collaborative arrangements with nurse practitioners (NPs) until clinical and medico-legal templates covering a range of issues for practices are available. Under new laws that came into effect from November last year, NPs are now eligible to treat patients and prescribe medicines on the MBS and PBS, provided they have entered a collaborative arrangement with a medical practitioner. The warning from the college comes as the number of MBS item numbers claimed by NPs more than tripled in their second month from 323 claims in November to 1058 in ...
A FEDERALLY funded program set to provide 300 grants to support international medical graduates working towards their college fellowship has attracted criticism from IMG leaders. The grants, to be administered by the RACGP and worth up to $3500 each, will be available to IMGs working in areas of need who have not commence their fellowship – a registration requirement for IMGs with limited registration – and were at risk of losing their registration this year. RACGP president Professor Claire Jackson said the grant offers were in response to college concerns that rural workforce shortages might soon be ...
THE RACGP has called on the government to invest $475 million in general practice and primary care infrastructure grants as part of its wish list for the May federal budget. In its submission to Treasurer Wayne Swan, the college has also called for further investments in e-health, preventive health funding and educational grants. The college submission, released today, recommends a $475 million investment in general practice and primary healthcare infrastructure grants, a $25 million investment in rural procedural grants and an additional $1 million to expand the number of places available in the Rural Locum Education Assistance ...
ANY push by pharmacists to seek prescribing rights is likely to get the backing of consumers who say they trust pharmacists to prescribe a limited range of drugs. Among 400 pharmacy clients surveyed by researchers at Curtin University, more than 70% supported pharmacist prescribing. However, 66% thought this should only happen after an initial diagnosis by the doctor, and those supporting pharmacist prescribing preferred that it was limited to pain medication and antibiotics. The study follows a recent decision by the Pharmacy Board of Australia to develop a framework for efforts to pursue pharmacist prescribing rights. ...
MOST GPs are committed to delivering preventive health in their day-to-day clinical practice, despite half believing they will never be adequately rewarded for preventive health checks, a Medical Observer survey has revealed. The poll of close to 500 GPs found that although two-thirds of respondents believed preventive health was a large part of their daily work, 47% believed it was unlikely they would ever be adequately rewarded for it. Melbourne GP Dr Tony Marshal said that until MBS rebates for longer consultations were increased, doctors would continue to be poorly remunerated for preventive health checks. ...
GPs wishing to offer locum support or financial assistance to their flood-ravaged colleagues can now give to a GP-specific relief fund set up by the RACGP. After receiving high numbers of calls from its members asking how they could help their fellow GPs financially, the college established the RACGP Flood Emergency Relief Fund . All proceeds donated to the fund will go directly to college members to assist them in rebuilding their practices, replacing damaged or lost equipment, funding locum support and providing trauma debriefing for practice teams. RACGP president Professor Claire Jackson said the ...
THE Federal Government has backed down on another health reform proposal with the announcement it would delay the removal of Practice Incentive Program payments (PIPs) for after-hours care until mid-2013. The Government had planned to scrap the PIPs in July 2011, in preparation for Medicare Locals (MLs) to take on full responsibility, including funding, for after-hours services. The plan caused widespread anxiety among GP groups, who warned that with the new bodies not set to be fully established until mid-2012, removing the PIP funding would decimate after-hours care. RACGP president Professor Claire Jackson was pleased the ...
It’s been a tumultuous year on the political scene. MO counts down the major events of 2010.
DOCTORS’ groups have taken the first step to ensure collaborative arrangements with nurse practitioners (NPs) will not expose GPs to medico-legal risks. Doctor and nurse groups, medical defence organisations (MDOs) and the Federal Health Department met last week to discuss collaborative arrangement scenarios and to gain clarification on GPs’ medico-legal responsibilities when working with or obtaining test results from independent NPs. MDOs last week confirmed GPs would be legally responsible to follow up any unsolicited test results from NPs, after a WA GP received such a test from an NP. The summit discussed approaches to prevent ...
RESEARCH showing computer use during consultations is impacting doctor-patient relationships has prompted calls for GPs to undergo training in the best way to use computers while in consultations. The Dutch study, in which researchers videotaped 1170 patient consultations with 35 GPs, was used along with a patient questionnaire to assess doctors’ computer use in the surgery. The data was collected in 2001 and 2008 with the same doctors. While the study showed that GPs were using their computers less during consultations in 2008, it revealed that GPs gave significantly less information to their patients if they used ...
ROCHE Products has been hit with a $200,000 fine, after its offer to fund a nursing position was found to be in breach of the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct. Earlier this year, the pharmaceutical manufacturer app-roached an Area Health Service with a proposal to fund a nursing position, however the offer suggested the funding could be contingent on the level of sales of the company’s hepatitis C treatment Pegasys. The company withdrew the proposal shortly after it was made. However, the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct Appeals Committee ruled that as the offer contained conditions that ...
INTERNATIONAL medical graduates (IMGs) have been left disappointed by a failed bid to secure a voice in the future of the RACGP. A motion to amend the college constitution to permit associate members – which include many IMGs – to vote was defeated at the annual general meeting last week, 183 votes to 40. The outcome ends a two-year campaign begun by Queensland GP Dr Diamond Hira. As associate members, IMGs will continue to have to either attain RACGP fellowship or gain five years’ experience in Australian general practice before being eligible to vote. Dr Susan ...
THE two-year campaign by international medical graduates (IMGs) to secure voting rights in RACGP elections has stumbled at the last hurdle. At the RACGP annual general meeting (AGM), a motion to amend the college constitution to afford associate members voting rights was soundly defeated 183-40. Associate members will remain unable to vote in college ballots, including presidential ballots. While there are more Australian-trained associate members, the push to have the constitution amended emerged from IMGs. At last year’s RACGP convocation Queensland GP Dr Diamond Hira put forward a motion to grant associate members the same ...
DOCTOR groups should be working harder to help GPs make their practices safer, academics have argued, following research showing not enough proactive measures are being taken to address patient violence. A study from the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute at the Australian National University revealed that only a small number of professional GP bodies offered members proactive measures or practical support in managing violent or difficult patients – despite the fact that nearly two-thirds of Australian GPs experienced some form of patient aggression every year. “Talking to the different stakeholder organisations, they really do not engage ...
THE Gillard Government must maintain its strong focus on primary health care and general practice, GP groups have urged. Both the RACGP and the AGPN have welcomed yesterday’s decision by Independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor to support the Australian Labor Party in a second term of office. The Independents’ decision means controversial reforms included in the National Health and Hospitals Network plan – such as the diabetes scheme and the new practice nurse incentive – remain firmly on the agenda. The rollout of the unpopular GP Super Clinics scheme also looks set to continue, ...
A SCIENTOLOGY-LINKED group has begun targeting GPs in a mass information drive, sending out DVDs that warn about the dangers of psychiatry. The RACGP last week alerted members about material from the Citizens Committee on Human Rights (CCHR), a mental health watchdog funded by the Church of Scientology. One GP, distressed by the material, contacted the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), which alerted the RACGP. RANZCP president Dr Maria Tomasic said the DVDs presented a distorted view of psychiatry – portraying treatments as lacking evidence and psychiatrists as excessively medication-heavy. “We’ve ...
RURAL GPs will have new opportunities to hone their mental health skills, under a series of grants being handed out to training providers. It is hoped that the extra training courses, allowing GPs to claim four additional item numbers for delivering Focused Psychological Strategies (FPS), will make some inroads into the unmet demand. A recent MO poll found that 85% of GPs were interested in further honing their mental health skills, especially in treating anxiety and depression (MO, 6 August 2010). And Dr Darcy Smith, chair of the RACGP’s Mental Health Standards Collaboration, recently ...
GPs vying for the new Federal infrastructure grants should put forward “innovative but realistic” ideas to help their application stand out from the crowd, the RACGP says. With $64.5 million up for grabs this year – and up to $500,000 per grant – the college has launched a new guide to help GPs score the cash to expand and upgrade their facilities. Applicants should consider what services they provide, what the community needs, and draw up a clear plan of how they will address service gaps. They should also seek advice from architects to support expansion ...
A GENERAL practice committee should inform the framework set up to manage the MBS, the RACGP has argued, as without this input future MBS reforms may have a detrimental impact on GPs. Under measures announced in the 2009-10 Budget, the Federal Government allocated $9.3 million over two years to develop the MBS Quality Framework, an evidence-based structure for managing the MBS. It will review the cost and effectiveness of MBS item numbers. In a response to the Federal Health Department’s discussion paper on the framework, the RACGP has voiced concern that the structure and makeup of the ...
FOR Melbourne GP Dr Ronald McCoy, it is his Celtic roots that have proven the inspiration for his creative pursuits. During his intern years, Dr McCoy (pictured above left) studied classical singing, but it wasn’t until he heard Gaelic music originating from the Scottish Highlands that his passion was ignited. “I heard some on a recording and thought ‘this is fantastic’,” he recalls. Since that time Scottish folk music has become his genre of choice, and after completing a distance education course run by Sabhal Mor Ostaig University on the Isle of Skye, he is now ...
THE general practice community is mourning the loss of one its most prominent figures, after the passing last week of Emeritus Professor Charles Bridges-Webb at the age of 75. Professor Bridges-Webb, who was appointed foundation professor of community medicine/general practice at the University of Sydney in 1975, is widely regarded as one of the founders of general practice research. Associate Professor Helena Britt, director of the Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney, said his work from 1965 until his retirement in 1994 was vital to the establishment of Australia’s largest and most influential general ...
REGISTRARS are warning that a new proposal for accrediting training practices could deny them the opportunity to complain about sub-optimal training conditions. Developed by the RACGP in conjunction with regional training providers (RTPs), the proposals would see the latter assume responsibility for accreditation. However, the RACGP and ACRRM would still set the standards. If given the go ahead, the policy will apply from July. However, General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA) has raised concerns with the proposed appeals process, saying it offers no grievance process for registrars who found a practice unsuitable. “There is a significant conflict ...
KEY professional bodies have expressed their concerns with the health reform agenda at the Senate inquiry into COAG reforms relating to health and hospitals. Representatives from the AMA, RACGP, AGPN, RDAA and Doctors Action questioned the effectiveness of policy relating to super clinics, chronic disease management, funding models and the relationship between Medicare Locals and local hospital networks. Key quotes from the senate inquiry Hansard: Australian Medical Association AMA president, Dr Andrew Pesce said he was disappointed at the lack of evidence based policy around funding models proposed by the Government. “We ...
THE lack of a long-term vision for the new Medicare Locals must be addressed if the new bodies are to fulfil their potential, the AGPN has argued. In its submission to the Senate Finance and Public Administration Committee inquiry into COAG health and hospital reforms, the AGPN voiced concern at a “lack of an overall, longer-term vision” for Medicare Locals. There was also a lack of alignment between the outcomes these new bodies would be expected to achieve, and the authority and resources they would be handed to achieve them. “[Medicare Locals] require real authority, responsibility ...
GPs have hit back at allegations from pharmacists that they are inappropriately selling flu vaccinations provided free by state governments. The Pharmacy Guild of Australia claims it has received more than 100 complaints from members alleging that GPs are dipping into flu vaccine stock that is quarantined for vaccinating at-risk patients. The allegations emerged after pharmacists contacted patients on their vaccine waiting lists, only to be told GPs sold them vaccines after the patient returned to the clinic empty-handed. “[Practice staff] are reporting that “Yes, we are using that supply temporarily and we will reimburse that ...
A NEW investigation into kickbacks and collusion between pathology providers and healthcare professionals has sparked fresh concerns among doctors. Last Thursday, Human Services Minister Chris Bowen announced that a Medicare Australia taskforce had been established to look at inducements offered to healthcare professionals in exchange for pathology referrals. “Medicare Australia intelligence indicates a small minority of providers may be offering health professionals benefits such as free or discounted rent, shares or cash payments to encourage requests for their services,” Mr Bowen said. “The Government will not tolerate this prohibited practice, which may result in patients undergoing ...
PROMINENT Australian GP Professor Michael Kidd is to step up to the global stage as president of the World Organization of Family Doctors (WONCA). Professor Kidd, a former RACGP president, will take over the position in 2013 from current president-elect Professor Richard Roberts of Wisconsin, US. The appointment was announced at WONCA’s recent council meeting in Cancun, Mexico. Current RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell paid tribute to the achievement. “Professor Kidd served the RACGP with distinction as our president from 2002–2006 and will make a very positive contribution to general practice and family medicine on ...
RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell has thrown his weight behind Professor Claire Jackson, the first contender to officially announce her candidacy for the RACGP presidency. As nominations for the role officially opened last week, Dr Mitchell said it would be “hard to imagine anyone who would be better placed to be president of the college but at the end of the day that election is decided by the members”. While Dr Mitchell said he would fully support whoever took the role, he said many members of the college were very pleased Professor Jackson was standing “because she ...
THE Federal Government should have given practice nurses greater freedom rather than granting MBS and PBS access to nurse practitioners, GP groups say. The AMA and RACGP have hit out at the Federal Government over its decision last month to give the go-ahead to nurse practitioners to claim benefits from the MBS and PBS. The GP groups say it should have instead given the green light to practice nurses to prescribe and order tests because their relationship with GPs is stronger. AMA vice-president and GP Dr Steve Hambleton said the association would have recommended that Australia ...
IMPROVING rates of cardiovascular therapy adherence is the target of a new primary care education campaign. A team of academics from the University of Sydney has developed, under the auspices of the Heart Foundation, an ‘adherence toolkit’ consisting of a set of six modules and six case studies, aimed at GPs, nurse practitioners and pharmacists. These cover topics such as health practitioner awareness of non-adherence; identification of poor adherence; interventions to improve adherence; and practice systems and protocols to support adherence. A key focus will be encouraging health professionals to discuss beliefs and concerns the ...
ONE in four GP practices operating without a practice nurse do so because they do not qualify for the associated practice incentive payment (PIP), an AGPN survey has revealed. The National Practice Nurse Workforce Survey found that, of the 2584 practices surveyed, 56.9% employed a practice nurse. Of those that didn’t, 24.4% attributed it to their ineligibility for the practice nurse PIP, while 17.3% cited lack of space. Only rural practices are eligible for the PIP, prompting AGPN chair Dr Emil Djakic to renew calls for the Government to extend the incentive to all practices. He also ...
GPs are being warned to remain vigilant in protecting patient files after one Melbourne practice encountered a computer virus that breached its security provisions and attempted to access patient bank details. Melbourne GP Dr Graeme Baro said despite firewalls and antivirus software, his machines and servers contracted a virus, which had been designed to seek out patient bank details and send them back to a remote source. The virus, however, did not succeed in sending any patient information out of the practice. “A couple of computers were having trouble with their functions… so our IT person checked ...
LEADING pain experts have called for Medicare to fund pain consultations as a key priority following a national summit. The National Pain Summit, held yesterday at Parliament House in Canberra, was attended by academics, other health professionals and consumer and professional group representatives. The key goal was to finalise a national pain strategy. A draft strategy, developed by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists’ Faculty of Pain Medicine, Australian Pain Society and Chronic Pain Australia, was released last October. Dr Stephen Leow, chair of the RACGP National Network of Pain Management, who attended ...
THE Federal Government has announced plans to become the dominant funder of hospital services across the country, as the first step in its long-awaited health and hospitals reform plan. Under the new funding arrangements outlined today by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the Government plans to take over 60% of the funding for public hospitals with Local Hospital Networks, to be run by local clinical leaders, established to administer services. The Government will also assume responsibility for all GP and primary care services. “By taking full funding and policy responsibility for primary care we can also reduce ...
Practices may soon have to nominate clinical leaders to take on responsibility for specific practice processes, as part of new accreditation standards proposed by the RACGP. The proposal, mooted as part of the RACGP review of the Standards for General Practices, would see individual staff members become accountable for practice processes such as infection control and clinical improvement. Dr Lynton Hudson, chair of the RACGP national expert committee on standards for general practices, said this would lead to improvements within practices. “If everyone [shares] responsibility then often nobody ends up taking ownership of that responsibility ...
GREATER investment in general practice and primary care, including an expansion of MBS items for practice nurses and MBS funding for point-of-care testing, must be a priority in the next federal Budget, according to the RACGP. In its Budget submission, the college has called for a $530 million investment in general practice and primary care infrastructure as well as increased funding for prevocational and vocational training places. RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell said that the Government needed to prioritise investment in health, following the disappointment of last year’s Budget. “GP supply has fallen by 2% since ...
NEW workforce data showing a drop in GP after-hours services has sparked fresh calls for more investment in general practice to improve access to GP services. The latest BEACH report has revealed the percentage of doctors providing or involved in cooperative practice coverage of after-hours care decreased from 60% to 43% in the last 10 years. In the past year alone, coverage dropped by 2 per cent. The report, General practice activity in Australia 2008-09, which draws on data gathered from 100,000 patient-encounters, also shows that just 39% of the 6183 encounters involving practice nurses were recorded ...
Expanding accreditation to measure the clinical performance of GPs is on the agenda. But not everyone is happy, as Kate Woods discovers. WHEN practice accreditation was first announced to Australian GPs, it was no easy sell. Even after field tests and local demonstration trials strongly suggested the standards were acceptable and appropriate and that the process was professionally satisfying,1 GPs remained sceptical. Even now, more than a decade later, universal acceptance is still elusive. “My belief is accreditation has probably been embraced by about 30% of practices, has probably ...
THE RACGP will face a massive task to convince grassroots GPs of the value of clinical indicators, according to an MO poll, with just 17% of GPs stating they believe the use of such indicators will lead to improvements in patient care. As part of the fourth review of the Standards for General Practices , the RACGP is surveying GPs on whether clinical indicators should be linked to practice accreditation for the first time. However, in a poll conducted for MO by Cegedim Strategic Data, only 14% of GPs agreed that clinical ...
INTERNATIONAL medical graduates (IMGs) may be a step closer to securing voting rights in RACGP elections, but they are still at least a year away. Over the weekend the RACGP council decided to progress the motion presented at last month's annual RACGP Conference for General Practice, which sought to award IMGs with associate membership the same voting rights as registrar associates. Under the existing RACGP constitution, IMG associate members who have not completed the RACGP fellowship must have at least five years of general practice experience in Australia before they are eligible to vote in elections. GP ...
AFTER months of intense lobbying, the Government has bowed to GP pressure and amended proposed legislation to ensure nurse practitioners must work in collaborative partnerships with doctors. In what is being heralded as a win for the profession, Health Minister Nicola Roxon (pictured) last week announced the new stipulation would be built into legislation that will grant nurse practitioners access to the MBS and PBS from November 2010. However, the victory has been tempered by the news that legislation effectively handing politicians’ control of medical education and training standards has been passed by the Queensland Parliament, and ...
INTERNATIONAL medical graduates (IMGs) have called for an independent inquiry into the RACGP’s role in assessing their qualifications amid accusations of inconsistencies in college assessment processes. The request follows the recent publicity over the case of ACT-based Canadian IMG Dr Susan Douglas, who had her pre-1992 qualifications rejected for fellowship by the college and has since had her Medicare provider number revoked for failing to attain her FRACGP. The RACGP only recognises Canadian family medicine qualifications completed from 1992 as being equivalent to FRACGP. However, the Australian Doctors Trained Overseas Association and Dr Douglas, who completed ...
PLANS mooted by the RACGP to retire standards, as part of its review of the Standards for General Practices , have been met with concern from accreditation company GPA Accreditation plus. Last week, the college launched an online survey seeking member feedback on its standards and whether clinical indicators should be introduced. Dr Lynton Hudson, chair of the RACGP national expert committee on standards for general practices, said if clinical indicators were to be included in the updated fourth edition, some existing standards would need to be retired so the accreditation process did not become onerous. ...
AS regional Victorian communities continue to face the challenges of rebuilding 10 months on from the Black Saturday fires, one local GP is lacing up his running shoes for a different challenge. Marysville GP Dr Lachlan Fraser – whose practice was recently named the RACGP’s Victorian Practice of the Year in recognition of its work following the fires – will next month lead runners on a marathon around the devastated area. Dr Fraser’s Marysville Medical Clinic burned to the ground in the fires, and he sustained injuries defending his property against the flames. Dr Fraser has spent ...
THE Federal Health Department has finally released guidance on the controversial new measures that will force GPs to undertake extra training to access higher MBS rebates for drawing up mental health care plans. GPs will now be required to complete level 1 mental health skills training or face a rebate cut of $30.90, from $156.85 to $125.95. The required training was introduced with the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care program in July 2001. However, GPs who have undertaken equivalent training in mental health care predating the level 1 training, or those who believe they have ...
THE RACGP has declined to make public a memorandum of understanding it recently signed with the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, which it aims to use to define professional boundaries between general practice and pharmacy. RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell said he hoped the recently signed agreement would lead to better communication between the two bodies amid recent calls for pharmacy to take a greater role in primary care.
Do you want to take action? Register your interest here GPs have overwhelmingly voted for a national multimedia campaign to inform the public of the risks associated with the Government’s controversial nurse practitioner reforms and GP super clinic initiative. Eighty per cent of GPs polled in a survey conducted for MO by Cegedim Strategic Data said a campaign involving television, Internet and radio was needed to inform patients, with 59% of those in favour of the concept prepared to reach into their own pockets to fund it. ...
THE Federal Government is considering a proposal to make e-health capabilities a requirement of practice accreditation, which would leave GPs little choice in whether to sign up to the national e-health agenda. The recommendation is just one of several contained in the proposed National E-Health Strategy now under consideration by the Government. And while it has the support of the AMA and the RACGP, grassroots GPs are less convinced. Under the strategy – drawn up by Deloitte – practices would first be offered incentives to use e-health solutions to collect, store and share patient information such as ...
No-one seems to know whether Australia’s health system is any safer today than it was more than a decade ago. Rosemarie Milsom examines why. WHILE collecting data for the landmark Quality in Australian Healthcare Study back in 1992, researchers reviewing the medical records of more than 14,000 admissions to 28 hospitals thought they had made a mistake. The data, which was being collected on a scale never before seen in Australia, was shocking: 16.6% of admissions were associated with an adverse event, and 3% of people admitted to hospital died or had permanent disability. Half ...
ENTICING junior doctors away from hospital posts and specialties and into general practice will not be possible without greater respect and adequate remuneration, experts argue. Latest workforce figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) show that from 2003 to 2007 there was just a 10% increase in overall GP numbers, compared to rises of 25.3% and 19.9% for hospital non-specialists and specialists respectively. RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell said the figures demonstrated the need to review GP remuneration and policies that weakened the position of GPs. “We need 45% of Australian graduates to ...
INTERNATIONAL medical graduates (IMGs) in Australia will soon have a rejuvenated voice, with the new president of Australian Doctors Trained Overseas Association announcing plans to formalise and expand the IMG lobby group. Taking over from outgoing president Andrew Schwartz in December, Queensland GP Dr Viney Joshi has unveiled his vision to strengthen the organisation by introducing the group’s first national executive. Dr Susan Douglas, a Canadian family doctor for 15 years and currently senior lecturer in general practice at the Australian National University, will take on the role of vice-president, while Queensland GP Dr Diamond Hira will ...
DOCTORS’ groups are pushing to lock out fully independent nurse practitioners from accessing the MBS or PBS, arguing the rights should be reserved for those who co-locate with a GP or sign up to formal collaborative agreements. As the Senate prepares to debate the controversial legislation that will expand the role of nurse practitioners, GP representatives on the Government’s Nurse Practitioner Advisory Group are negotiating to establish a framework under which nurse practitioners will qualify for MBS and PBS rights. The framework is expected to ease widespread GP angst over recent moves by WA-based group Revive that ...
NATIONALLY consistent accreditation pathways for international medical graduates (IMGs) entering Australia will prove a workforce boon by smoothing the way for doctors entering the country, say recruiters. Despite three routes to the RACGP Specialist Pathway expected to be available from July 2008, only one – for doctors with Australian equivalent qualifications (Category 1) – had been operational. The Australian Medical Council (AMC) last month approved pathways for partially comparable doctors (Categories 2 and 3) based on the doctor’s level of qualifications and experience. Stakeholders, who had previously warned the delay had damaged Australia’s reputation as an ...
GP registrars stung by the RACGP’s surprise decision last year to raise examination fees by almost 70% have been offered discounted full college membership rates following a lobbying campaign. Under a deal secured by General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA), registrars enrolling for the first time in the RACGP’s Objective Structured Clinical Examination in 2009 will receive a credit of up to $655 against their full membership fees. This effectively grants them one free year of membership. Registrars due to sit their exams in 2010 will also receive a credit of up to $327.50. GPRA chair Dr ...
A CANADIAN international medical graduate (IMG) practising in a designated area of need has been advised by Medicare Australia that her provider number is no longer valid due to her obtaining permanent Australian residency. Despite practising part-time in the ACT for the past 12 months, Dr Susan Douglas said her practice was contacted by a patient this week who had been unable to claim a rebate based on her provider number – sparking her inquiries to Medicare. Dr Douglas, a Canadian-trained family doctor and senior lecturer in general practice at the Australian National University, told MO ...
RACGP members have rejected moves to axe their right to vote for the college president, following a convocation vote at its annual conference in Perth. The motion, proposed by former college president Dr Eric Fisher, favoured a president elected by council rather than by college members. Dr Fisher warned that the current voting system, which allowed members to elect the president, risked installing a leader who was unqualified to be on council and who may feel more accountable to voters than to the council. Former president Professor Michael Kidd spoke against the motion, arguing it would ...
INTERNATIONAL medical graduates (IMGs) with associate membership of the RACGP may be granted voting rights, after a motion was carried at an early-morning convocation meeting at the college's Conference for General Practice today. The motion, requesting council “implement the requisite instrument to grant voting rights to all categories of associate members in line with that of registrar associates for purposes of consistency and fairness” was passed in a tight 9-7 vote. Under the current college constitution, IMG associate members who have not completed their fellowship must have at least five years of general practice experience in ...
A PASSIONATE international medical graduate who has expanded medical services and training in his rural NSW community has been named RACGP GP of the Year at the college’s annual conference in Perth. Wagga Wagga-based GP Dr Ayman Shenouda (pictured), who emigrated from Egypt in 1992, said he was overwhelmed by the honour, which recognises outstanding service to the community and commitment to ongoing training and professional development. Initially trained as a surgical registrar, Dr Shenouda told MO he had not originally planned to pursue a career in general practice but gravitated towards the profession ...
A PASSIONATE international medical graduate who has expanded medical services and training in his rural NSW community has been named RACGP GP of the Year at the college's annual conference in Perth. Wagga Wagga-based GP Dr Ayman Shenouda (pictured), who emigrated from Egypt in 1992, said he was overwhelmed by the honour, which recognises outstanding service to the community and commitment to ongoing training and professional development. Dr Shenouda told MO he initially started surgical training and had not planned to pursue a career in general practice, but gravitated towards the profession in search of ...
A PROPOSAL to screen truck drivers for depression as a requirement for licensing should not be implemented without ensuring access to mental health services is guaranteed, an expert has argued. As part of the National Transport Commission’s review into the medical standards on Assessing Fitness to Drive guidelines, the Australian Trucking Association recommended drivers be screened for depression, in line with tests already administered to safety-critical rail workers. In the association’s submission to the review, chair Trevor Martyn said severely depressed drivers were almost six times more likely to have a crash or ...
THE RACGP is to discuss axing all members’ rights to vote on presidential elections, with one of its former leaders warning the current constitution risks installing a president who lacks the appropriate skills to sit on council. The possibility of allowing only council members to vote for the president, rather than an open member ballot, is to be discussed during convocation at the college’s annual conference and AGM this week. The item, to be presented by former president Dr Eric Fisher, follows a constitutional review that will see members vote on Thursday to limit presidents to one ...
A COMPLAINT has been lodged with WA Health Minister Dr Kim Hames over the decision to pass over existing services in awarding a $10 million super clinic contract to former RACGP president Dr Vasantha Preetham. Dr Don Prendergast, whose Perth practice lost out to Dr Preetham’s company Health Integra, has written to Dr Hames complaining that his practice suggested a super clinic-style model to the State Government three years ago but was not granted support. “We should be entitled to the same level of funding,” Dr Prendergast told MO . “What has taken us 40 ...
Presidents will only be permitted to serve two years before stepping aside, under the RACGP’s newly amended college constitution. The terms of councillors have not been similarly limited. The amendments have resulted from a comprehensive constitutional review, and RACGP members will be asked to vote on this and other changes at next month’s AGM. The college has chosen not to give voting rights to IMGs who are yet to get fellowship, despite calls to do so.
GPs can expect to lose up to half their patients with minor ailments to new nurse practitioner clinics, a leading practice consultant has warned, and must consider new business models to combat the threat as a matter of priority. The warning from practice management consultant David Dahm follows last month’s announcement from nurse practitioner clinic operator Revive that it plans to franchise its model through up to 150 pharmacies by 2012. Quantifying the potential financial impact of the new model, Mr Dahm said that in areas where a Revive Clinic or similar operator opened, general practices could ...
PROPOSALS to drastically overhaul primary healthcare services will not translate to better patient health outcomes, Australian GPs have warned. A new MO poll has revealed just how dim a view GPs take of the specific reforms proposed by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC). And expanded MBS and PBS rights for nurse practitioners and midwives are causing the most frustration. Nearly all the 152 GPs surveyed said they believed the measure would not result in better patient health, and of a list of six controversial NHHRC reforms, more than half said it ...
DOCTORS are set to have their say in developing the collaborative frameworks under which nurse practitioners will gain independent MBS and PBS ordering and prescribing rights. In the same week as shadow health minister Peter Dutton slammed the enabling legislation in Federal Parliament, the AMA was invited by Government to sit on a newly established nurse practitioner advisory group. Since it was first drawn up, the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill’s failure to detail collaborative models of care has given rise to fears among GPs that it would enable nurses practitioners to practise independently ...
THE leading GP practice software provider has jumped on board with the Pharmacy Guild-backed e-prescribing system, leaving the RACGP-backed product out in the cold for now. Widely touted as a significant step in reducing medication errors, the e-prescribing systems will allow GPs to send electronic scripts directly to pharmacists – provided they both use the same system. Last week, Health Communication Network (HCN) – which produces Medical Director – announced a partnership with eRx Script Exchange, an e-prescribing system in which the Pharmacy Guild holds a 50% stake. In the same week, rival e-prescribing system MediSecure ...
NURSE practitioners and pharmacists will join forces in a deal that will see nurse practitioners provide clinical consultations on pharmacy premises at the same price-point as a Level B consult. The announcement has alarmed doctors’ groups, who believe the move will further sideline GPs and fragment care. The Revive Clinic, which operates three privately billing nurse practitioner clinics, last week revealed a partnership with the Pharmacy Alliance Group, which allows alliance members to re-brand as a Healthetc pharmacy with a Revive Clinic on the premises. It comes as debate intensifies over draft legislation to grant nurse ...
A PROPOSAL to set up nationwide Comprehensive Primary Health Care Centres has received a far warmer welcome from doctors’ groups than the Federal Government’s controversial super clinics policy. The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) plan to establish a network of virtual or physical one-stop shops providing a range of patient services is a better investment, according to GP experts. The proposal would see 300 centres created at a cost of $1 million each, and has been welcomed by GPs as a means of linking and investing in existing services. Such a network would give 25% ...
THE RACGP is looking to radically widen the scope of its standard-setting activities, with a plan to drive improvements in patient care. But the plan – hailed by the college as a means to drive improved patient outcomes – has concerned frontline GPs, who fear any clinical standards set could later be used by the Federal Government to determine incentive payments. The plan is based on a Web resource called Oxygen, which will collate and store de-identified patient data – from information on age and sex to clinical outcomes. In turn, this will allow participating GPs to ...
LEADING GP groups hold differing views about the most efficient way to fund Australia’s massive swine flu vaccination program, which will see up to 21 million doses of the new vaccine administered. AGPN chair Dr Emil Djakic proposed the existing fee-for-service funding system should be scrapped for the program in favour of a more flexible model that would see doctors receive block payments for undertaking the work. However, the move received a cool response from the RACGP, with president Dr Chris Mitchell arguing there was not enough time to negotiate such a system before vaccinations started in ...
THE number of stressed GPs turning to help and counselling support services has risen in a year plagued by natural disasters and the global financial crisis. According to RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell, anecdotal evidence suggested the number of doctors accessing the college’s GP Support Program had increased noticeably in recent months. “It has been a bugger of a year – there are clearly the financial issues that have been impacting general practice, but also some major disasters, including floods and fires,” Dr Mitchell said. “Those issues make it very hard for us.” The service, ...
PHARMACISTS are seeking payments from the Federal Government for signing up to electronic prescription systems that have been widely touted as a significant step forward in reducing medication errors. The payment request is expected to be thrashed out when pharmacists face off with the Government over the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement in coming months. Two electronic prescribing systems – which enable GPs to send electronic scripts directly to pharmacists – have emerged this year. While doctors can sign up to either system for free, pharmacists will be charged 25 cents for each electronic prescription that they access ...
THE mental and emotional wellbeing of Australia’s GPs is under siege, according to an exclusive Medical Observer survey, with nearly 60% of doctors reporting “troubling” to “unmanageable” levels of stress. In a disturbing assessment of GP health, the MO Stress Test revealed that the cumulative effect of government bureaucracy and health reform angst, combined with the demanding nature of general practice, was significantly affecting the stress levels of 85% of doctors. The survey of nearly 500 GPs – conducted by Julie Dang & Associates – found 73% of GPs reported their stress was ...
THE mental and emotional wellbeing of Australia’s GPs is under siege, according to an exclusive Medical Observer survey, with nearly 60% of doctors reporting “troubling” to “unmanageable” levels of stress. In a disturbing assessment of GP health, the MO Stress Test revealed that the cumulative effect of government bureaucracy and health reform angst, combined with the demanding nature of general practice, was significantly affecting the stress levels of 85% of doctors. The survey of nearly 500 GPs – conducted by Julie Dang & Associates – found 73% of GPs reported their stress was ...
A NEW resource to help doctors navigate ethically challenging situations has been released by the RACGP and the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria. The DVD, Face to Face: Challenging Cases in Medical Practice , explores issues that are frequently raised in complaints to medical boards, including the acceptance of gifts, bending the rules for supplying medical certificates, patient doctor shopping for prescription medication and sexual misconduct. The new resource comes just weeks after figures indicate that opioid prescribing in Australia tripled between 1992 and 2007 ( MO , 22 May ). Board ...
THE Federal Government has given itself a “gratuitous” tick of approval for its management of health in a recently released mid-term progress report, doctor groups say. Among the list of top 50 achievements during the first 18 months in office, the Government listed the introduction of controversial health reform measures, including the signing of contracts for 15 of its promised 31 GP super clinics and the granting of PBS and MBS rights to nurse practitioners. Dr Brian Morton, deputy chair of the AMA council of general practice, said many of the Government’s health achievements lacked an evidence ...
FIVE men die every hour in Australia from potentially preventable illnesses. We know the leading cause of death among men is coronary heart disease, which accounts for almost one in five male deaths. Lung cancer and cerebrovascular disease are the two next most common causes. Much of this is preventable, which is why the RACGP supports the M5 Project (see www.m5project.com.au ). The M5 Project was launched in March and aims to break down the barriers that prevent men from going to see their GP and being proactive about their health. Men have a ...
ACCESS to a locally based psychiatrist for phone advice could complement and enhance the national GP Psych Support service, experts say. RACGP vice-president Dr Morton Rawlin said GPs using the service were overwhelmingly positive about it. “We have 250-300 calls per week nationally and that’s certainly grown since [the RACGP] took over the service, when it was only receiving 20 calls a week,” he said. And he believed a local scheme, such as one recently trialled in the NSW Hunter New England Area Health Service, could fill the gaps in the national service. The three-month ...
AS DOCTORS came under fire on national television for their relationship with pharmaceutical companies last week, two leading GP organisations declined invitations to debate the issue. The television debate Doctors and Drugs aired on the SBS Insight program and covered a range of contentious issues including pharmaceutical company gifts and sponsored education for medical professionals. Several stakeholders, including GPs and industry critics, spoke to the issue, however both the AMA and the RACGP declined to send representatives, citing scheduling conflicts. Dr Ken Harvey, senior research fellow at La Trobe University’s school of ...
THE 69% hike in fellowship examination fees imposed by the RACGP this year will cause financial hardship for most GP registrars, a survey shows. General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA), which conducted the survey to gauge registrars’ responses to the exam fee increase, said the RACGP had agreed to consider a payment plan for those experiencing financial hardship. The results showed that of 269 respondents, 87% indicated that the examination fee increase from $3500 to $5910 would cause them financial hardship, with 18% saying it would be extremely difficult for them to bear the price hike. GPRA ...
GPs have been left disappointed by the Rudd Government’s “nation-building Budget”, which fails to invest in general practice, yet allocates $59.7 million to open up the MBS and PBS to nurse practitioners. RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell said the Government had again neglected to address the inadequate remuneration for GPs via the MBS. “We believe the relative remuneration of general practitioners is significantly less than specialist practitioners and it’s not reflective of the good we do in the community,” he said. Dr Mitchell was also concerned that allowing nurse practitioners access to the MBS and PBS ...
THE RACGP has backed away from a policy that would have seen GP registrars charged $600 or more for withdrawing from fellowship examinations they were not eligible to sit. The fees were set as part of changes to the RACGP fellowship examination process, which saw the three exam parts “uncoupled” to allow them to be taken one at a time. Under the new system, GP registrars must pass each part before progressing to the next. Many GP registrars are still paying upfront for all three parts, however the RACGP policy originally stated that those who failed ...
GREATER financial and practical support for GP supervisors is crucial to the future of the profession, according to a new blueprint for the evolution of general practice education and training. According to a joint report from the RACGP, ACRRM, GPET and GPRA, the role of teaching in general practice needs greater recognition. Appropriate remuneration and additional funding should be made available to improve teaching infrastructure and facilities as a matter of urgency, it recommends. The report – which will now be submitted to the National Primary Health Care Strategy external reference group – contains 38 comprehensive ...
The RACGP council needs more new blood to avoid being seen as a club, a former president claims. Commenting on the first review of the RACGP constitution in nine years, immediate past president Dr Vasantha Preetham said the college council needed greater scrutiny and called for two-year terms for councillors. Leadership issues had caused much tension at the RACGP in the past, she said. “Every council needs new blood ... [otherwise] it can’t be called a council, it can only be called a club,” she said. The college’s 1300 international medical graduate (IMG) members should ...
MOVES to make GP waiting rooms and surgeries more appealing to male patients will form part of a new national campaign aimed at improving Australian men’s health. The M5 Project, launched in Sydney last week by the RACGP, hopes to reduce the number of men who die every hour from preventable illnesses from five to zero. A joint collaboration between the Federal Department of Health, the RACGP and other non-government organisations, the project will produce a range of promotions and activities aimed at boosting men’s health awareness. RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell said at the launch ...
A PUSH by General Practice Education and Training (GPET) to ensure nationally consistent training standards has led the RACGP to overhaul its process to accredit practices wishing to take on GP registrars. Changes coming into effect this year will see practices gain their provisional accreditation within 14 days, and full accreditation within 12 months. Previously, varied approaches by RACGP state branches meant in some areas provisional accreditation could take months, and practices could continue to employ registrars for years without being properly assessed by a college surveyor. Now, after 12 months, general practices that are not fully ...
A NEW online health information resource for patients has been launched by the RACGP. The resource, Family Doctor Home Advisor, provides patients with explanations and advice on various illnesses, along with ‘decision trees’ which assist them in choosing appropriate action. “Given patients are seeking healthcare information online, it is important the general practice profession provides access to a credible resource,” said RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell. “We are seeing patients coming to consultations with information that they have downloaded from the Internet; some of it is useful, but some is seriously questionable or downright misleading.” ...
GP registrars have labelled the 69% hike in the RACGP college examination fees as unfair and unwarranted. The surprise move has seen the 2008 fee of $3500 jump to $5910 for next year, putting the RACGP fees above those of the $5650 examination fee charged by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. With more than 550 GP registrars sitting the examinations this year, the college could net an extra $1.3 million next year. Previously candidates enrolled to sit all three segments of the examination and, if they failed any part, they were required to re-sit the ...
THE RACGP’s international medical graduate assessment and accreditation process has been called into question by a Canadian-trained doctor, who was told an appeal against the rejection of her fellowship application was pointless. Dr Susan Douglas – a Canadian family doctor for 15 years and currently senior lecturer in general practice at the Australian National University – has drawn up a statutory declaration detailing her experiences. She alleges the RACGP censor-in-chief told her while she was entitled to appeal, it “won’t make any difference”. Currently, the college deems Dr Douglas’s Canadian Certificate in Family Practice equivalent to an ...
FRUSTRATED international medical graduates may soon abandon the RACGP with the federal government now indicating it will approve a submission by ACRRM to provide an alternative assessment pathway for GPs entering Australia. The warning, from Queensland-based international medical graduate (IMG) Dr Viney Joshi, follows the RACGP’s recent rejection of calls for an independent review of assessment processes for overseas graduates and requests for IMG associate members to be granted voting rights. According to Dr Joshi, the ‘post-Patel’ era had resulted in tougher standards and assessment processes being applied to IMG candidates applying for FRACGP, compared to Australian ...
THE rift between the RACGP and its outgoing president Dr Vasantha Preetham is no closer to a resolution, with Dr Preetham enlisting lawyers to assist her in the dispute. Immediately after Dr Chris Mitchell’s election victory ( MO , 1 August ), Dr Preetham raised concerns about the electoral process, in particular office bearers using their positions to promote her opponent’s campaign. Dr Preetham had hoped these would be addressed in full at the recent council meeting, but she expressed disappointment that this was not the case. She will decide on a course of action after ...
DR Chris Mitchell’s RACGP presidential election victory remains under a cloud following allegations from outgoing president Dr Vasantha Preetham that college resources and staff were inappropriately used to promote his campaign. After announcing his candidacy, Dr Mitchell published endorsements from college council chair Professor Peter Mudge, council secretary Dr Di O’Halloran, and membership committee chair Dr Jane Smith on his website. While expanding on her previous concerns over college electoral processes ( MO , 25 July ), Dr Preetham (pictured) questioned the role played by RACGP office bearers. “It was my view that some college ...
Kellie Bisset crunches the numbers of MO ’s annual survey on health reform. THE Rudd government has high hopes for its GP super clinics strategy, which it says is a key plank in building a stronger primary healthcare system. But the majority of Australia’s GPs remain firmly convinced that the $275 million plan to establish 31 clinics across the country is nothing but a big juicy lemon. It’s early days and negotiations are still underway on how the policy will be rolled out in each area. But the results of Medical Observer ...
ACCREDITATION agencies have vehemently denied an RACGP announcement that practices have had their PIP payments suspended due to delays in processing reports. In a recent Friday Fax , RACGP president Dr Vasantha Preetham said she knew of practices whose PIP payments had been suspended due to accreditation delays, which technically left them no longer accredited and unable to claim the incentives. “I have been alerted to incidents where practices have had their PIP payments suspended because they have not had their reports back from their accreditation agencies,” Dr Preetham wrote. She called for ...
THE independence of CPD programs is in doubt after the RACGP admitted its guidelines are not stringent enough and the burgeoning education industry makes them impossible to police. The admission follows widely publicised reports that CPD provider HealthEd allowed pharmaceutical sponsors to hand-pick speakers at educational events without disclosure to attending doctors ( MO , 29 February). However, Medical Observer has learned that the RACGP endorsed HealthEd’s program in line with its CPD guidelines after a complaint was lodged to the college about a year ago regarding the involvement of the event’s sponsor. When asked about the complaint, Dr Ramesh Manocha, ...