June 2015

The future of the RACGP’s highly successful  Emergency Response Planning Tool  (ERPT) is in serious doubt with the program due to expire in a matter of weeks. The development and rollout of the ERPT was funded by the Federal Government’s Department of Health (DoH) via the Office of Health Protection (OHP). Although the RACGP has sought continued funding of this highly successful program, the Federal Government has not commitment to further support. The tool was launched in October 2013 and has since been successfully rolled out to 2100 practices ac...

The House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Health is conducting an  inquiry into Chronic Disease Prevention and Management in Primary Healthcare . The committee is calling for submissions from individuals and organisations by 31 July. Submissions needs to address the terms of reference which are wide ranging and include: best practice in chronic disease prevention and management, both in Australia and overseas how the Medicare system can reward and encourage best practice and quality improvement in chronic disease prevention and managem...

The RACGP’s flagship journal,  Australian Family Physician  (AFP), is the primary vehicle for publication of evidence-based clinical information and research relevant to Australian GPs. With a recent increase in submissions, we are looking to increase our pool of peer reviewers and are seeking expressions of interest from members who may wish to participate. If you would like to volunteer to become a peer reviewer for AFP, please send your expression of interest along with a copy of your current CV to  afp@racgp.org.au For members wishing to learn...

Men who have sex with men (MSM) in Australia are disproportionately and increasingly affected by sexually transmissible infections(STIs) including HIV. All men who have had any type of sex with another man should be tested at least once a year. More frequent testing (up to four times a year) is recommended for some MSM who have   any unprotected anal sex; have more than 10 sexual partners in six months; participate in group sex; use recreational drugs during sex; and/or are HIV-positive. Testing should include chlamydia and gonorrhoea at genital, an...

With only 86 days left until the RACGP’s annual conference kicks off in Melbourne, I urge you all to register for GP15 before July 7 and make the most of our early bird discount rate. I am very pleased to announce we will be joined by Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley who will officially open the conference and deliver a keynote speech.  Through this years’ overarching theme  Our future in practice  we will explore a range of topics to inspire our future as GPs and strengthen our resolve to advocate for the best interests of our patients and the fu...

The RACGP recently made a  Submission to the Department of Health  on the Electronic Health Records and Healthcare Identifiers: Legislation Discussion Paper. The submission welcomed the Government’s commitment in its 2015-16 budget to strengthen the national e-health system and support the continued development of the PCEHR and identified key areas that the ongoing work program should focus on. The RACGP did however, voice concerns about the mechanism of the new opt out design and made clear it will not support any mandatory requirement for uploadin...

The Governance Review has continued to work hard behind the scenes to assess the RACGP’s ideal governance structure. To assist in this process, the RACGP is working alongside experts from Cameron Ralph Navigator, a specialist governance and board effectiveness consultancy. So far, a comprehensive assessment of the RACGP’s decision making and current governance structure has been performed.  In line with the Governance Review’s Terms of Reference (available on the RACGP website), those governance aspects assessed have included the composition and co...

Funding for health assessments for the Healthy Kids Check will cease on 1 November 2015, as identified in the  2015-2016 budget . It is anticipated that this will result in a $144.6 million reduction in general practice funding over four years. The Healthy Kids Check program currently provides time tiered MBS item numbers, supporting GPs to undertake health and developmental screening of children between the ages of 3 and 5. The health checks often identify children who have problems with hearing, speech, vision and behaviour. The ‘ Report on Gov...