2019 RACGP Awards now open
RACGP members across Australia are encouraged to nominate their peers in recognition of their achievements and dedication to general practice in the community.
The annual awards recognise and celebrate the important achievements of RACGP members each year.
Nominations close Friday 17 May 2019, 5pm (AEST) with state winners in each award category being announced in July, and national winners at GP19, the RACGP conference to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre in October.
State awards for GP and General Practice of the Year may be nominated by a member of the medical profession, a member of the general public, a member of a regional training provider or Primary Health Networks?
The RACGP has developed support materials including social media images, an email signature banner and a poster to promote nominations for your GPs and practice.
Visit the RACGP website for further information.
Influenza and pertussis vaccination in pregnancy
Seasonal influenza vaccines are available through the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for women during pregnancy. The Department of Health (DoH) has developed resources for both patients and healthcare providers to explain the importance of protection from influenza and pertussis.
Antenatal vaccination is recommended to protect pregnant women and their babies from influenza and pertussis and their complications. Maternal antibodies against influenza and pertussis provide protection to babies until they are able to be vaccinated themselves.
The evidence around the timing of pertussis vaccination in pregnancy has been recently reviewed and the pertussis-containing vaccine is now recommended as a single dose between 20–32 weeks in each pregnancy, including pregnancies that are closely spaced, to provide maximal protection to each infant.
Information for health care providers, including a clinical advice fact sheet and promotional materials, is now available.
Visit the DoH immunisation website to download materials and share them with your patients.
New telehealth item numbers for mental health in drought-affected communities
The Department of Health has introduced six new Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items to enable GPs and non-specialist practitioners to provide mental health and wellbeing support services by video conference to patients in drought-affected areas.
The GP needs to be working in a drought-declared area under the Drought Communities Programme in a Modified Monash Model area 3–7. Furthermore, the patient will need to be at least 15 minutes by road from the GP and there needs to be an existing relationship between the GP and the patient.
GPs can access additional information on MBS items 2121, 2150 and 2196 by visiting MBS Online. MBS items 894, 896 and 898 can be used for non-specialist medical practitioners when providing a mental health consultation using video conferencing direct to the patient.
Healthdirect Australia is offering healthdirect Video Call at no charge to GPs and practices wishing to access the new MBS items for mental health via telehealth in drought-affected areas. For more information, please visit the Healthdirect Australia website.
MBS Review Taskforce: Member consultation closing Friday 12 April
Member consultation on the following reports developed by the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce will close on Friday 12 April:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
- Allied health
- Mental health
- Participating midwives
- Specialist and consultant physicians
The RACGP is preparing responses to the reports and is interested in your comments on the report recommendations, should you have a particular interest in one or more of the topics.
The reports are available on the RACGP website consultations page. Other relevant information, including consultation closing dates and where to send your feedback, is also available on the same page.
If you have any questions, please contact healthreform@racgp.org.au
RACGP eHealth webinar series: Information Security in general practice
Information security is critical to the provision of safe, high-quality healthcare and the efficient running of a general practice. It is a fixed cost of doing business to ensure business continuity and the protection of information assets.
This month the RACGP eHealth webinar series will be delivering webinars to assist GPs and general practice teams understand their information security obligations under the RACGP Standards for general practices (5th edition) as outlined in the resource Information security in general practice, released in February 2018.
A number of sessions are available. Visit the RACGP website to register. Webinars are accredited for two Category 2 RACGP QI&CPD points and are free of charge for all participants.
Webinar recordings are made available via the RACGP website at the conclusion of each month’s sessions. The March ‘My Health Record and medico-legal concerns’ webinar is now available for viewing.