July 2021

RACGP Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and RACGP Rural invite our members to participate in a photo competition to find the feature image for the ‘This Rural Life’ project.  Some great prizes are on offer. Entries to the photo competition should feature your experience working in primary care in rural Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. The competition closes Monday 9 August. Visit our website to find out more and enter the competition , and read about the project in newsGP .

The Department of Health has confirmed that, for the temporary COVID-19 MBS telehealth (video and telephone) items only, documenting a patient’s agreement to assign their benefit as full payment for the service within clinical notes is sufficient evidence of the assignment of benefit This means that for these services agreement can be obtained through one of three methods: In writing By email Verbally through the technology with which the attendance is conducted. This agreement can be provided by a patient or another person, such as a ...

We’re always looking for ways to enhance and streamline our CPD program to make sure your experience is simpler, stronger and seamless. We’ve introduced more improvements to your myCPD to save you time and personalise your experience: Personalised search – select your learning interests for a refined search based on your preferences Bookmarks – save time and find courses seamlessly by bookmarking the activities that interest you Notifications – set and customise reminders for CPD activities so you never miss out Attendance certificates...

To access MBS telehealth services from a GP, patients must have had a face-to-face attendance with the GP providing the service, or another practitioner at the same practice, at least once in the previous 12 months. There are limited exceptions to this rule, including for people in COVID-19-affected areas. As of 16 July 2021, the test for exempting patients whose movement is restricted by a state/territory public health order has been replaced with three criteria. The patient is: in COVID-19 isolation because of a state or territory public h...

Date: Thursday 12 August 2021 Time: 7.00–8.15 pm AEST           GPs thoroughly document patient information in electronic medical records (EMRs) to ensure there is continuity and integration of care provided directly and through referral networks. How has this information been used to deliver and monitor general practice care? Can EMRs be better used to improve clinical and managerial decisions in the context of quality improvement? This webinar will discuss the benefits of better data quality and limitations in the use of EMRs, and will ...

On 21 July 2021, six new MBS items were introduced for nicotine and smoking cessation counselling provided by GPs. There are face-to-face and telehealth items (video and phone) available, which are equivalent in value to Level B and C attendances. The new items allow Medicare benefits to be paid for telehealth services relating to nicotine and smoking cessation counselling without the requirement for the patient to have an established clinical relationship with the GP. These items are temporary and will cease on 30 June 2022. Visit our webs...

Date: Monday 16 August 2021 Time: 7.00–7.30 pm AEST The RACGP Future Leaders Program gives GPs the confidence to lead change in their community. Designed for RACGP Fellows with some leadership experience, the program can help you develop your skills as a leader, identify your strengths, think strategically, and produce beneficial change for the health community Those interested in the program are encouraged to register for our 2022 Future Leaders information webinar. Hosted by Oliver Shultz, the RACGP’s Leadership Development Consultant...

eRequesting (electronic requesting) enables pathology and diagnostic imaging requests to be transferred from your general practice clinical information system (CIS) directly to the pathology or diagnostic imaging provider via secure electronic communication. In partnership with the Australian Digital Health Agency, we’ve developed an on-demand webinar to discuss how eRequesting works, how you can set up your practice to get started, and how eRequests work with My Health Record. The second half of the webinar focuses on managing and sharing ad...