Australian General practitioners’ are in Melbourne for three days of intensive learning, discussion and networking at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ (RACGP) annual conference.
Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 21-23 September under the theme Our future in practice, GP15 celebrates the great work and research of Australia’s general practitioners in preparing for the current and future challenges to primary care.
RACGP President Dr Frank R Jones said this year’s program looked to be the biggest and best yet, with registration numbers topping 1500, including a number of international guests from the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, Fiji College of General Practitioners, Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia and the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians.
“The RACGP’s annual conference is the highlight event of the year for general practitioners, offering a platform to discuss and debate the serious issues facing primary healthcare and patient health outcomes,” Dr Jones said.
“The calibre of content being delivered in this year’s program is outstanding and is sure to cultivate some great discussion on issues such as mental health, drug-seeking patients, chronic conditions and how technology is evolving general practice.”
Dr Jones will also launch the RACGP’s bold new funding model: Vision for general practice and a sustainable healthcare system this morning at the conference opening, which calls for a major overhaul of the current funding system for general practice and sets the tone for delivering more efficient and sustainable healthcare.
“If implemented, our vision will transform the delivery of healthcare in Australia, through increased quality, access and efficiency,” Dr Jones said.
GP15 highlights include:
- Dr Alessandro R Demaio (Norway) – Opening keynote address, Rethinking the future of general practice
- Mrs Ruby Beizen (Aus) – Recommending influenza vaccination to children under the age of 5 – views of primary care providers
- Dr Gemma Ossolinski (Aus) – Glimpsing the future: Computer generated self-images as a motivational tool for weight loss
- Dr Magdalena Simonis (Aus) – Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery Toolkit for general practitioners and other health professionals
- Dr Paul Grinzi (Aus) – ‘Wheel of misfortune’ – approaches for Drug Seeking Patients
- Dr Tim Senior and others (Aus) – Can we do better than “I treat everyone the same?” A practical workshop to improve the outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
GP15 – the RACGP’s annual conference for general practice – runs from September 21-23 at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Visit the GP15 website for more information.