Zostavax® vaccine now available nationally for people 70–79 years
Zostavax® is now available nationally for people aged 70-79 years. The vaccine is readily accessible to GPs and other immunisation providers.
A free shingles vaccine program has been funded under the Australian Government’s National Immunisation Program (NIP) since November 2016 for 70-year-olds, with a time-limited catch-up program for people 71–79 years old until October 2021.
To assist in promoting the program and ensuring people 70–79 years old are protected against shingles, it is now timely for GPs and other providers to:
- follow up with patients or other eligible people 70–79 years old who would benefit from the vaccine and who may have missed out earlier in the program
- promote the vaccine to eligible people 70–79 years old through displaying the program posters and brochures in their clinic or health care facility
- report vaccinations to the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR).
Visit the DoH immunisation website for further information, clinical advice and practice materials for the National Shingles Vaccination Program.
Aged Care Workforce Taskforce consultation
The RACGP is seeking feedback from GPs on questions provided by the Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce (the Taskforce), in response to the development of the Aged Care Workforce Strategy (the Strategy).
The Taskforce will reference the June 2017 report of the Senate Community Affairs References Committee inquiry into the future of the aged care sector workforce, to which the RACGP provided a submission.
The Taskforce questions for which the RACGP is seeking member feedback can be found on the RACGP website and shareGP.
Please submit your feedback to advocacy@racgp.org.au or through shareGP by Wednesday 21 February.
Update to Department of Health ‘Red Book’ – Guidance on Laws Relating to Pathology and Diagnostic Imaging – Prohibited Practices
The Department of Health (DoH) is writing to all Approved Collection Centre lessees and lessors to advise them of an update to the DoH Red Book.
This is a minor update of the previous guidance. New content includes information about the DoH compliance and enforcement strategy and clearer descriptions and examples of prohibited practices under the legislation. There has been no change to legislation.
The DoH Red Book provides guidance to general practices, pathology providers and diagnostic imaging providers on the laws that relate to prohibited practices in commercial relationships between requesters and providers of pathology and diagnostic imaging services, and describes the implementation of various elements of Prohibited Practices Provisions of the Health Insurance Act 1973.
Visit the DoH website for more information on Pathology Rents.
In Practice poll: Changes to the GP Aged Care Access Incentive
The GP Aged Care Access Incentive was put in place to encourage GPs to provide ongoing services in residential aged care facilities (RACFs). It has been an important resource for supporting GPs to remain involved in the aged care sector and improve the health and wellbeing of older Australians.
The RACGP is concerned about the absorption of the GP Aged Care Access Incentive into the Quality Improvement (QI) incentive as part of the reform of the Practice Incentives Program, which will remove incentives for individual GPs providing care in RACFs.
While the RACGP understands that the details of the updated QI incentive are yet to be finalised, it appears unlikely it will provide the same level of support as the GP Aged Care Access Incentive for GPs providing care in RACFs. The RACGP advocates for GPs providing care in RACFs and wants to hear from members about how they would be impacted by the removal of the GP Aged Care Access Incentive.