November 2022

Summer is certainly on its way; I hope you’ve had the opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather. Although we’ve have had some glorious spring days this month, sadly we’ve also experienced more flooding in areas of NSW. This puts great stress on your communities and yourselves – please don’t forget to look after your own health and wellbeing.

As we adjust to the new norm of living with COVID-19, we’re seeing a new wave emerge. Cases are expected to rise over the coming weeks in NSW and the ACT. The continued support you provide to your patients and the community is vital. Be sure to stay up to date with the latest information and resources in NSW and the ACT.
On a lighter note, last month we held our annual faculty member meeting. I’d like to thank everyone who attended in person and virtually and extend my congratulations again to the recipients of our 10- and 20-years-of-service awards, life members, and faculty award winners. These individuals exemplify quality practice and the commitment GPs have to the health of their communities. Thank you and congratulations again to our NSW and ACT 2022 RACGP Award winners:
 

• GPs of the Year: Dr Anju Agarwal and Dr Chris Harrison
• GP in Training of the Year: Dr Kate Fisher
• GP Supervisor of the Year: Dr Rohana Wanasinghe
• Practice of the Year: Barton Lane Practice – Tamworth
• Tony Buhagiar Memorial Medal: Dr Thomas Lucena and Dr Amelia Tan

 
I’d also like to thank Prof Felicity Goodyear-Smith for delivering the thoughtful Charles Bridges Well Oration this year on her research into improving health outcomes for Pasifika people – with them and by them.

Continuing with the acknowledgements, I’d like to welcome our incoming faculty council members and acknowledge the appointment of Dr Michael Wright and Dr Rebekah Hoffman as Deputy Chairs. Thanks also to our outgoing faculty council members and our outgoing Deputy Chair, Dr Mary Beth MacIsaac. Thank you for your hard work and for the valuable time and resources you’ve given freely in representing your regions, colleagues, and the interests and concerns of general practice.

Until next month, when ‘tis the season to celebrate the year we’ve had. I hope to see you in Melbourne at GP22 next week. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with my peers from around the country.

Event	Date, time	Location	CPD
How to identify and respond to abuse of older people	22 November 2022 7.00–8.00 pm (AEDT)	Online	Two
Rhinosinusitis 2022 update	23 November 2022 7.30–8.30 pm (AEDT)	Online	Two
Medical receptionist course – Coffs Harbour	24–25 November 2022	Opal Cove Resort, Coffs Harbour	N/A
Update on adult vaccination and emerging diseases	29 November 2022 7.30–8.30 pm (AEDT)	Online	Two
A 2022 cardiology update	5 December 2022 7.30–8.30 pm (AEDT)	Online	Two
When to test for STIs and HIV in general practice	12 December 2022 7.30–8.30 pm (AEDT)	Online	Two

 

Get the necessary CPR knowledge and skills to meet your 2020–22 triennium requirements. Earn five CPD points. 
 
Dates: 24 November 2022
Time: 7.00–9.00 pm
Venue: Opal Cove Resort, Coffs Harbour
Cost: Members: $89 | Non-members: $99
CPD points: Five

Register now

Workplace-facilitated discussions aim to resolve workplace relationship issues and support workers to remain with their employer while they recover through work by getting the parties together for discussion and agreement on a plan of action.

You might hear injured people discuss workplace-facilitated discussion when receiving treatment. To help you understand this service, the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) has recently published information to promote uptake of workplace-facilitated discussion services delivered by SIRA-approved workplace rehabilitation providers.

Research has found that workplace discussion facilitated by a third party can help resolve relationship conflict and help workers return to the workplace after an injury. It could be particularly helpful in psychological claims arising out of bullying, harassment, work pressure or interpersonal conflict.

SIRA will evaluate the new service to understand its impacts on return-to-work outcomes.

If you have any enquiries about workplace-facilitated discussion, you can find more information on the SIRA website, email contact@sira.nsw.gov.au or call SIRA on 13 10 50.

RACGP NSW&ACT congratulates the following GPs who attained Fellowship of the RACGP last month:
 

Dr Dean Adit	Dr Sarah Marks
Dr Evan Cameron	Dr Leila Moghadas
Dr Joel Cohen	Dr Lynette Nasri
Dr Monique Dickens	Dr Alexander Nguyen
Dr Julian Dobell-Brown	Dr Zoran Nikolovski
Dr Vijaykumar Dubey	Dr Georgia Nunn
Dr Sanjoy Dutta	Dr Anselm-Zixton Ogbujieze
Dr Laura Elsom	Dr Deepak Puri
Dr Rada Germanos	Dr Sarika Rane
Dr Neena Gottipati	Dr Fatema Shabnam
Dr Thomas Henderson	Dr Polly Shepherd
Dr Natasha Hill	Dr James Shin
Dr Sanjeet Hyare	Dr Pooja Singh
Dr Bradley Jackson	Dr James Smyth
Dr Andrew Kako	Dr William Stewart
Dr Yalda Keenan	Dr Sharmin Sultana
Dr Amit Kshatriya	Dr Saeid Tahmasebi
Dr Rachel LaBlack	Dr Mary Fer Tan-Paredes
Dr Saqib Qamar Malik	Dr Christopher Wilson

 
Congratulations on achieving Fellowship of the RACGP! We recognise all the sacrifice and hard work that has gone into your GP journey.

Transitioning from a being a GP in training to an independent, practising GP is a major career-changing (and life-changing) milestone. The Next Five Program extends support to New Fellows as they navigate their first few years of unsupervised practice.

The Medical Board of Australia’s CPD changes, which take effect in 2023, focus on regular performance feedback, collaboration with peers, self-reflection and reviewing patient outcomes. As your CPD home, the RACGP is here to support you through these new requirements and help you get the most out of your professional development with a simple, flexible and accessible CPD program.

To start getting ready, download our Activities for your CPD guide and use it to prompt your thinking on what activities you’re currently doing and what activities you could do to contribute to your 50 hours of CPD. Also check out our CPD FAQs and watch a CPD information session that explains the changes.

Phone your local CPD team for extra support. 

The RACGP Member Census is your chance to let us know what’s important to you and what you need from your college. Have your say and help us understand more about you, your work and your relationship with the RACGP. Your feedback directly informs the college’s priorities and advocacy.

The 2022 census will be open to all eligible members from 31 October to 20 November 2022.

Your invitation to the online census was emailed to you earlier this month, but you can also participate via the RACGP website and social media.

Complete the census
 

Please join us for the 2022 RACGP annual general meeting (the AGM) and Convocation at GP22 on 24 November.

If you’re attending the conference or based in Melbourne, you’re welcome to attend in person. Otherwise, you can livestream the meeting by registering your digital attendance.

You can submit your questions for the Board, read the proposed resolutions and learn about the voting process on the RACGP website.

Register now
 

Ahead of mosquito season, NSW Health is encouraging people to protect themselves from Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV).

JEV is a rare but serious infection spread through infected mosquitoes. A recent seroprevalence survey of five regional NSW areas identified that one in 11 participants had evidence of JEV infection.

Some people in high-risk LGAs are eligible for a free vaccination through their GP. You can download a resource pack to help you communicate with eligible patients.  

Stay up to date with JEV in NSW by checking out the NSW Health GP practitioner updates on the NSW Health website.
 

A quick reference guide is now available from NSW Health to support management approaches for performance and image-enhancing drug (PIED) use. It’s based on the GP guide to harm minimisation for patients using non-prescribed anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and other PIEDs developed by Sydney North Health Network.

The guide makes it easier for GPs and other health professionals to access evidence-based guidance on managing and minimising harm for people contemplating, using or wanting to cease use of non-prescribed AAS and other PIEDs.

Access the quick reference guide

HealthStats NSW reports 23% of children aged 5–16 were above a healthy weight in 2021, and most didn’t meet physical activity guidelines. Being physically active can have many benefits, such as reducing overweight and obesity while enhancing musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, social and mental health.

GPs can help children increase their daily movement by referring them to Go4Fun. This evidence-based lifestyle program for children above a healthy weight and their parents results in statistically significant improvements in physical activity and sedentary behaviours. In fact, two-thirds of children and young people met the national physical activity guidelines after completing the Go4Fun program.

You can find referral forms via your clinical software, online or by calling 1800 780 900. Referring GPs receive progress reports highlighting participant outcomes.

The NSW Health hepatitis C and HIV dried blood spot (DBS) testing pilot is a self- or assisted-testing tool designed to reach people who test infrequently or don’t attend conventional healthcare settings.

DBS is free, confidential and beneficial for people who have poor venous access or limited access to pathology services. You may have people presenting to your practice who have had a DBS test and are now requesting follow-up care.


NSW Health is looking to expand DBS into general practice and will deliver an online RACGP DBS webinar in 2023.

You can learn more about DBS on the NSW Health website.
 

The Transition Care Network has launched its updated key principles for transition webpage. The resource is aimed at clinicians and health staff to guide local transition processes for any chronic condition across any setting, service or location.

The webpage provides advice, templates, resources and examples of how clinicians and services can support young people with a chronic condition or disability as they move from paediatric to adult health services. NSW Health will update the webpage and add new resources and information when necessary.

• Image-based prescribing
  • Image-based prescriptions are no longer valid for dispensing in a community pharmacy.
  • In private health facilities, image-based prescribing, including subsidy under PBS, will continue until 31 March 2023 for Schedule 4 medicines (excluding Schedule 4 Appendix D).
  • In public health organisations, image-based prescirbing is valid for all Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 medicines.

 

• A prescriber can request a dispensing pharmacist, either face to face, by phone or via email, which can include an image of a prescription, to dispense a medicine in ‘any urgent circumstance’ and not only in an ‘emergency’. The prescriber must immediately create the physical prescription signed by hand and send it to the pharmacist within 24 hours.

 
Find more information on supply of prescription medicines.
Find more information on image-based prescriptions.