In Practice newsletter
1 April 2016
A big week for healthcare innovation
It has been an exciting week for Australian healthcare.
The Royal Commission into Family Violence report and commitment by the Victorian Government to implement all 227 recommendations was welcomed by all parties on Wednesday 30 March.
The recommendations included three specific to GPs and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), which will encourage and enable GPs to provide an even higher standard of care and support to patients experiencing family violence.
More detail is included in the RACGP media release.
The Federal Government’s Health Care Homes pilot announcement on Thursday 31 March, part of its long-awaited response to the Primary Health Care Advisory Group (PHCAG) report, has been welcomed in principle by the RACGP and closely aligns with the medical home model of care described in its Vision for general practice and a sustainable healthcare system.
The pilot is aimed at chronic disease patients requiring a high level of support and will involve up to 200 practices across Australia, where patients will enrol with a specific GP.
However, there remain a number of concerns the RACGP will need to address with Health Minister Sussan Ley, such as how data collection, reporting and benchmarking will occur.
As well, the use of the MyHealth Record system remains problematic from the GP perspective and data security and usability issues need resolution.
Fortuitously on Thursday, the day of the Health Care Homes announcement, I was privileged to represent the RACGP at the prestigious George Institute in Sydney to discuss options and potential solutions for innovation in healthcare. The RACGP Vision paper has already been ground breaking and innovative!
The actual event, sponsored by both the institute and the Consumers Health Forum, focused on creating a consumer-centred healthcare system for the 21st century. How, in fact, do we innovate and drive change?
The RACGP outlined a GP perspective, which indicated cultural as well as system changes are required.
Healthcare changes need to be incremental and evidence-based, working in partnership with our patients for the best possible outcome.
A necessary balance will be required between the application of new and emerging science and technologies, the patient’s sense of self, the patient’s expectations and the fiscal bottom line.
Dr Frank R Jones
RACGP President
RACGP awards nominations now open
Each year, the RACGP recognises and celebrates the achievements of its members through the RACGP awards. The following awards are now open for nominations:
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The Rose Hunt Award
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General Practice of the Year
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General Practitioner of the Year
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General Practice Supervisor of the Year
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General Practice Registrar of the Year
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Life Fellowship
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Honorary Fellowship
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Honorary Membership
RACGP members across Australia are encouraged to nominate their peers in recognition of their dedication to primary healthcare in the community.
Nominations are now open and close 16 May. Visit the RACGP website for further details and to nominate.
Yellow fever vaccination requirements
The Federal Government is adopting the World Health Organisation (WHO) amendment to the International Health Regulations (2005) that the period of protection afforded by yellow fever vaccination, and the term of validity of the certificate, will change from 10 years to the duration of the life of the person vaccinated. These changes will be implemented as part of the new Biosecurity Act 2015 that takes effect on 16 June.
Vaccinated individuals who are travelling to yellow fever-declared countries, and who are due to have a booster vaccination before 16 June, are not required to do so for health protection purposes.
Further information is available on the Department of Health website.
Australasian Breast Congress 2016
The 2nd Australasian Breast Congress, ‘Advances and Controversies in Breast Cancer’, will be held 7–10 July in Auckland, New Zealand.
The congress will bring together healthcare professionals and consumers to explore issues including the treatment of low-risk lesions and screening, management of hereditary breast cancer, breast cancer in young women and survivorship issues.
Visit the Australasian Breast Congress website for more information.
RACGP Clinical Pearl – Controversy surrounding diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus
The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guideline determines gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) on the basis of a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) where the fasting level is ≥5.5 mmol/L. However, new consensus guidelines for the testing and diagnosis of GDM developed by the International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group (IADPSG) recommend diagnosis at a lower fasting level in addition to one-hour and two-hour blood glucose readings.
These recommendations are considered controversial both in Australia and internationally.
There is currently little evidence that clinical intervention is beneficial in the additional women identified by the IADPSG screening criteria. As with any screening intervention, the evidence must be clear that the benefits outweigh potential harms. Until this evidence is forthcoming, the NHMRC recommendations form the basis of RACGP support.
Visit the RACGP’s General practice management of type 2 diabetes 2014–15 for more information.
April marks the beginning of an international WHO campaign to beat diabetes.
In Practice poll results – Local GP advocacy networks
Over the past three weeks, the RACGP has surveyed members’ views on the potential role the RACGP could play in supporting GP advocacy and engagement networks at a local level.
The majority of respondents (54%) felt there are currently limited or no opportunities for GPs to connect and engage with other GPs at a local level. A further 36% of respondents agreed it is important that GPs have the opportunity to engage with a local network of GPs, and the existence of these networks is currently variable. Only 9% of respondents felt there are already easily accessible established GP networks.
The RACGP thanks all poll respondents for their feedback and will use this information to inform the development of its Local GP advocacy networks pilot project. The pilot will explore ways to improve the opportunities for GPs to engage with one another and discuss areas of mutual interest or concern.