27 January 2017


RACGP members receive Australia Day honours

The RACGP extends sincere congratulations to all GPs acknowledged in the 2017 Australia Day Honours List. These 16 members have shown tireless dedication and commitment to primary healthcare and community wellbeing in Australia. Congratulations to:

Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

  • Dr Andrew Wright
  • Dr Susan Downes

Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)

  • Dr Albert Foreman
  • Dr Anne Ellacott
  • Dr Cameron Bardsley
  • Dr David Chen
  • Dr George "Tony" Simpson
  • Dr John Murray Flynn
  • Dr John Terrence Flynn
  • Dr Michael Armstrong
  • Dr Mirza Datoo
  • Dr Patrick Giddings
  • Dr Purushottam Sawrikar
  • Dr Vinh Lieu
  • Dr Richard Schloeffel

Dr Bronwyn Stokes, who passed away in November, received the OAM posthumously for service to medicine in regional NSW after a long career in Port Macquarie, Merriwa and Tamworth.

Further information can be found on the 2017 Australia Day Honours List website.


Have your say

Inquiry into the complaints mechanism administered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law

The RACGP is interested in your feedback and experience regarding the complaints mechanism administered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.

The Senate Community Affairs References Committee has announced an inquiry looking into the complaints mechanism administered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, including the role of Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

The inquiry follows the 2016 inquiry into the medical complaints process in Australia which looked at the prevalence, reporting and processing of bullying and harassment complaints in the medical profession.

The new inquiry focuses more broadly on the AHPRA complaints mechanism, including the process for managing patient complaints.

The RACGP consultation period closes on Wednesday 8 February, and your feedback can be provided via the RACGP consultations page.


Changes to general practice accreditation

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC), in collaboration with the RACGP, has developed the National General Practice Accreditation Scheme (the Scheme).

The Scheme commenced 1 January 2017, and aims to:

  • provide greater choice for practices seeking accreditation
  • improve support programs for implementation of accreditation
  • provide practices with access to national data on accreditation performance and enable benchmarking.

Under the Scheme, general practices seeking accreditation must be assessed by an approved accreditation agency. General practices due for accreditation before 30 June 2017 will maintain existing arrangements with their accreditation agency. From 1 July 2017, practices undergoing accreditation will need to ensure they use one of the approved accreditation agencies.

For further information, visit the ACSQHC website.


January deadline for Practice Incentives Program eHealth Incentive requirements

The Practice Incentives Program eHealth (ePIP) Incentive shared health summary (SHS) upload requirements must be achieved by 31 January 2017.

Under the temporary amendment to the ePIP, general practices have been able to achieve their SHS upload requirements over a period of nine months rather than as three separate quarterly targets.

This extension provided time to resolve any transitional issues and to allow practices that opted out of the first quarter an opportunity to meet the requirement and claim the incentive. Practices are encouraged to take advantage of this one-off amendment to ensure they don’t lose the ePIP payments.

Practices that will not meet all of the requirements should withdraw from the ePIP entirely. This will ensure practices are not overpaid, or faced with having to repay up to three quarterly payments.

For further information, visit the RACGP website.


The new QI&CPD 2017–19 triennium has commenced

The RACGP Quality Improvement and Continuing Professional Development (QI&CPD) 2017–19 triennium commenced 1 January.

The focus of the 2017–19 triennium is to encourage and facilitate reflective learning in order to help GPs identify opportunities that enhance their daily practice with changes that will improve patient safety and care.

The 2017–19 triennium requires a minimum of 130 QI&CPD points, consisting of:

  • one planning learning and need (PLAN) quality improvement activity
  • one Category 1 activity
  • one cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) activity.

For more information on the QI&CPD 2017–19 triennium visit the RACGP website, or for further support, contact the QI&CPD team.


GP17 call for abstracts closes next week

GP17 is your opportunity to present your research and findings to your general practice colleagues. The call for abstracts closes on 2 February 2017, so submit your abstract now.

Some of the benefits of presenting at GP17 include:

  • raising your profile in the general practice community
  • sharing your research and innovations
  • presenting to your general practice colleagues
  • networking with like-minded GPs, who share your interests.

GP17 is your chance to collaborate and connect with colleagues and gain further insights into general practice.

The GP17 Scientific Committee is inviting submissions for 15-minute, 30-minute and one-hour oral and poster presentations.

For further information, please visit the GP17 website.

The call for abstracts will close at 11.59 pm AEST, Thursday 2 February 2017.


RACGP 2017 Clinical Emergency Management Program workshop – Registrations now open

Increase your knowledge, skills and confidence in managing life-threatening emergencies with the RACGP Clinical Emergency Management Program (CEMP).

The one-day intermediate CEMP workshop (40 Category 1 QI&CPD points) includes CPR practice and assessment, as well as basic life support (BLS) and advanced life support (ALS). The two-day advanced workshop (80 Category 1 QI&CPD points) will enhance your adult trauma and paediatric emergency skills.

Participants may be eligible for Rural Procedural Grants Program training grants of $2000 a day.

Registrations are now open on the RACGP website. Don’t miss the opportunity to obtain QI&CPD points for the new triennium.

Visit the RACGP website or contact the relevant state faculty for further information.


Clinical Pearl

Be ‘sun smart’ this summer

Primary prevention of skin cancer is being ‘sun smart’. Everyone, particularly children, should be advised to adopt protective measures when UV levels are three or above. These measures include use of shade; broad-brimmed, bucket or legionnaire-style hats; protective clothing; sunglasses; and sunscreens with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.

Sunscreen must be applied properly to provide skin protection. About two teaspoons of sunscreen are needed for the head, neck and arms. Ideally, it should be applied about 15–20 minutes before going outdoors. It should be reapplied every two hours and after heavy sweating, bathing or long sun exposure, especially if outdoors when the UV Index is three or above.

Encourage patients to become familiar with their skin, and be alert for new or changing skin lesions.

For daily information about UV levels visit the SunSmart widget. For more information about primary prevention of skin cancer, visit the RACGP Red Book.


In Practice poll

Local GP Advocacy Networks

In 2016, we surveyed members on whether we should play a greater role in supporting GP advocacy and engagement at a local level. Most respondents were supportive, given a current lack of opportunities for GPs to connect and engage with other GPs at a local level.

The RACGP is creating opportunities for GPs to engage with other local GPs and discuss areas of mutual interest or concern, in part through tools such as ShareGP. As the peak body of general practice, we want to support the profession and ensure that the local GP voice is not lost within the changing healthcare sector. Engaging with colleagues provides the opportunity for professional growth through access to information and peers. This can result in increased professional satisfaction and a united professional voice.

We are starting to pilot Local GP Advocacy Networks, with the first network being formed in the Hunter region (NSW). This network will connect GPs from across practices in the area through face-to-face and/or online meetings and allow them to share ideas and concerns with peers, as well as the RACGP.

Similar networks will soon be piloted in various metropolitan and regional areas.


Media enquiries

Journalists and media outlets seeking comment and information from the RACGP should contact:

John Ronan

Senior Media Advisor