March 2019

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 RACGP awards, opening Friday 29 March at 10.00 am (AEST), recognise and celebrate the important achievements of RACGP members each year. The awards operate at two levels – faculty and national. State winners in each award category will be announced in July, with the national winner selected from the pool of state winners. National winners will be announced at GP19 Adelaide in Octo...

Applications for the 2020 intake of the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program are now open for junior doctors wanting to pursue a career in general practice. The RACGP is recognised as a leader in the provision of general practice education and training, supporting more than 23,000 GPs to achieve Fellowship since 1958. The government-funded training program provides training for doctors to achieve general practice Fellowship and gain specialist registration. The AGPT Program involves three to four years of full-time training offered ...

From 1 April 2019, patients using Transport Accident Commission (TAC) services will need approval from the TAC before they can access home services or taxi travel. GPs play an important role in helping patients understand the services they may need and are eligible to access from the TAC. The TAC can pay for travel to and from medical, disability and rehabilitation appointments if patients are not able to drive or use public transport. Patients will need to call the TAC and speak to their claims manager prior to using taxi travel to obtain their t...

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 inform...

Consultation on the RACGP  White Paper – Vision for general practice and a sustainable healthcare system  (the Vision) closes Sunday 31 March 2019.  The Vision White Paper provides members with the opportunity to influence the RACGP’s underpinning policy and advocacy resource. We encourage all members to provide their feedback via the  consultation survey .  Any questions regarding the Vision White Paper can be directed to  advocacy@racgp.org.au

The Federal Election is fast approaching and is an opportunity to influence the direction of future government. The RACGP is running a grassroots advocacy campaign and is  encouraging all members  to speak with their local MPs and electoral candidates about the issues facing GPs and their patients. The  RACGP Election Statement  and  pre-election advocacy pack  has been developed to help you advocate on key issues affecting general practice. Take action now, by: talking to your patients about how these issues affect them writing to local MP and ...

The Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program is the leading program for doctors wishing to pursue the speciality of general practice. In many rural and remote areas, GPs with advanced rural skills training are the only specialist medical services (such as emergency medicine, mental health, anaesthesia and obstetrics) available in the community. For GPs wishing to develop advanced rural skills and specialise in rural general practice, the RACGP offers the Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) through the AGPT Progam. FARGP...

The RACGP is preparing a submission to the Pharmacy Board consultation on  pharmacist prescribing  and is seeking your feedback as part of this process.  Further information is available on the RACGP  consultations page . Please send your feedback to  healthreform@racgp.org.au  by Wednesday 27 March 2019.