Bush Alert November 2019

Welcome to the final edition of the RACGP Rural Bush Alert newsletter for 2019.

Leadership changes for the RACGP Board

The RACGP’s 62nd Board met at the recent GP19 conference in Adelaide to elect RACGP Board members following the 2019 Annual General Meeting. Among other changes, Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner and third-year RACGP Board member, Christine Nixon was elected as the Chair of the 62nd Board.

I am honoured to have been re-elected as RACGP Vice-President. I look forward to working alongside President Dr Harry Nespolon, Dr Christine Nixon and our other Board members. Read the full details about the 62nd RACGP Board.

It is clear that the rural agenda is a priority of the current government. RACGP Rural will continue working very closely with Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt MP and the Minister for Regional Affairs Mark Coulton to support and attract rural doctors to deliver the best care for their rural communities.

We will also continue to work with Prof Worley, Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Department of Health on the Rural Generalist Recognition Taskforce to enable and drive forward the joint work of the GP colleges to achieve recognition of Rural Generalism as a specialised field within the specialty of general practice as we continue development of our new Rural Generalist Fellowship.

GP19 summary

RACGP Rural delivered an array of program content at our annual conference with a focus on supporting rural general practice.

Our Rural hospital clinical simulation (RHCS) and Introduction to point-of-care ultrasound active learning modules were highlights for participants. The RHCS was held at the state-of-the-art Adelaide Health Simulation facility with specialist, cutting-edge equipment and training facilities.

We offered two rural education sessions, including Technology in rural general practice and Rural Mental Health. These sessions were both well attended and highly engaging.

I was delighted to welcome Prof Paul Worley, Rural Health Commissioner, to our annual members’ meeting to provide an update on the National Rural Generalist Pathway and the government’s upcoming rural and remote health priorities.

A personal highlight for me each year is presenting the rural awards. This year, we were thrilled to present a new award for the Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) Community Project of the Year. Congratulations to the Brian Williams Award winner Dr Kate Davey, Rural Registrar of the Year winner Dr Jerry Abraham Alex, Rural Medical Student Bursary Award winner Mr Michael Au and the winner of the inaugural Community Project of the Year award, Dr Sophia Gordon. Their outstanding achievements and commitment to rural general practice is an inspiration to us all.

RACGP Rural Council update

We are pleased that Dr Michael Clements and Dr Sue Page have been elected as Deputy Chairs for the RACGP Rural Council. We also welcome our new RACGP Rural Councillors – Dr James Walker (SA rep), Dr Lizzi Shires (Tasmania rep), Dr Lorin Monck (WA rep) and Ms Danica Xie (student rep).

Thank you for your support in 2019

As the year comes to a close, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you – our members – for your ongoing support of RACGP Rural.

My thanks also go out to the RACGP Rural Council, the Rural Education Committee and our dedicated staff for a great year. We are busy planning for 2020 and welcome your ideas, feedback or comments. Please email the team at rural@racgp.org.au

I wish you an enjoyable festive season with family and friends and a happy and safe 2020!

This active learning module (ALM) provides GPs with foundational cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) skills and is ideal for GPs who wish to include CBT in their clinical practice. While aimed at rural GPs, this ALM will be a useful resource for any GP interested in gaining skills in psychotherapy.

The training comprises six interactive learning modules; each taking one hour to complete and can be completed at your own pace.

The ALM focuses on six areas:

1. Introduction to CBT
2. Assessment, formulation and treatment planning
3. CBT in action: Focus on depression
4. CBT in action: Focus on anxiety
5. Challenges in CBT
6. Additional considerations

More information and registration.

In recognition of outstanding achievements and exceptional individuals for their contribution to rural general practice, four awards were presented during GP19, including a new award for the Fellowship in Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) Community Project of the Year.

The annual RACGP Rural Awards celebrate standout commitments to improve the health and wellbeing of rural and remote communities. 

Brian Williams Award
Dr Kate Davey (pictured top left) was presented with the Brian Williams Award. The award acknowledges practitioners whose guidance and support enables rural GPs to ‘safely dedicate themselves to their patients, their families and their communities’. A rural GP in north-east Victoria for more than three decades, Dr Davey has been commended for her dedication, mentorship and support, and has held many leadership roles in organisations providing medical education in the state.

Rural Registrar of the Year Award
Dr Jerry Abraham Alex (pictured top right) was presented the Rural Registrar of the Year Award for his exceptional commitment to rural general practice and improving the health outcomes in his community. Currently completing his rural generalist general practice training through Queensland Health and James Cook University, Dr Alex is based at Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service Aboriginal Corporation in Yarrabah, Queensland. 

Medical Student Bursary Award
Mr Michael Au (pictured bottom right), a medical student at James Cook University, received the Medical Student Bursary Award for his essay on 'Rural generalism training: The future of general practice'. Michael demonstrated a deep understanding on the topic, provided realistic suggestions and expressed innovative future thinking. 

Community Project of the Year Award
Dr Sophia Gordon (pictured bottom left) received the inaugural Community Project of the Year Award for her project titled 'Does access to diabetes educators in a remote West Australian Aboriginal Medical Service have an improvement on type 2 diabetes control?' completed at Mawarnakarra Health Service in Roebourne, Western Australia. Her project identified a clear rural community need, directly contributed to healthcare improvement in a remote general practice and positively impacted the town’s community.

The RACGP Rural Council is our key representative and advisory body for issues affecting rural and remote communities. We are pleased to welcome our new councillors and introduce the 2020 Council.

These dedicated and committed professionals contribute to RACGP Rural activities, education, policy and advocate on behalf of the profession. They can be contacted via by emailing rural@racgp.org.au

RACGP Rural is planning the next Rural Health webinar series for 2020 and we'd like to hear from you! Which topics would you like the series to cover next year?

The RACGP Rural Health webinar series presents free monthly webinars on important health issues for rural and remote GPs.

Each session is held on the first Thursday of the month with a focus on supporting GPs with relevant information and resources. Registration is open to all members across Australia.

Send your topic suggestions to the RACGP Rural team via rural@racgp.org.au

If you have any outstanding Rural Procedural Grants Program (RPGP) claims that need to be included in the final fund release from the Department of Human services, please submit them by Tuesday 10 December 2019. This will be the last day to submit claims prior to the Christmas closure.

December 2019 is the final month of the 2017–19 QI&CPD triennium and the RPGP team is anticipating a heavy workload. We encourage you to submit your claims as early as possible to ensure it will be processed in a timely manner.

All RPGP claims must be submitted with the grants claim form together with the appropriate supporting evidence and emailed to rural.procedural.grants@racgp.org.au

Please note, claims submitted with incomplete details or insufficient evidence will be returned to the claimant and this may delay payments.

The RACGP Silver Book Expert Advisory Group is pleased to present the new edition of the RACGP aged care clinical guide (Silver Book).

The fifth edition provides GPs with up-to-date information on the complex care of older people. The Silver Book is now published on a newly designed website and will feature three interweaving parts:

• Part A: Common clinical conditions in aged care (available online now)
• Part B: General approaches to aged care (early-to-mid 2020)
• Part C: Organisational approaches to aged care (mid-to-late 2020)  

The first section to be published – Part A: Common clinical conditions in aged care – is intended to be used as a point-of-care reference. It is designed to assist in clinical decision-making by presenting a snapshot view of the diagnosis and management of a range of clinical conditions.

The RACGP aged care clinical guide (Silver Book) is now available online.

The Federal Government has announced an additional $45.5 million in telehealth funding to be spread out over three years. The funding will enable GPs to access Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) payments for telehealth consultations with patients based in remote areas of Australia. The changes will be implemented through 12 new telehealth specific items being included on the MBS.

To be eligible for subsidised telehealth consultations, patients are required to:

• live in a Modified Monash Model (MMM) 6 or 7 location
• have an existing clinical relationship with the GP providing the telehealth consultation (defined as three face-to-face consultations in the past 12 months)
• be at least 15 km by road from the GP.

While temporary item numbers have already been made available to provide general mental health support services by video consultations to patients in drought-affected and flood-affected areas, the new program will expand on these services.

The 12 new telehealth item numbers will also mean GPs can receive Medicare rebates for a range of services, where previously they had only be available for providing patient-end clinical support during video consultations with a specialist, consultant physician or consultant psychiatrist, or focused psychological strategies services.

Find out more.

The capital sensitivity arrangements were originally implemented to improve the quality and safety of diagnostic imaging by encouraging the use of newer, better-quality equipment and reducing the exposure to unnecessary radiation.

From Friday 1 May 2020, all diagnostic imaging equipment (except for those with a current exemption) must be within its effective life age or maximum extended life and listed as such on the Department of Human Services location specific practice number (LSPN) register.

Currently, items on the Medicare Benefits Schedule have two different schedule fees (ie 'mirror items') known as schedule K and schedule NK items. Schedule K items refer to services performed on newer / upgraded equipment and schedule NK items refer to services performed on older/aged equipment. NK items have a lesser Medicare fee than K items.

From Friday 1 May 2020, subject to the passage of legislation, all NK items will be removed from the MBS. This means Medicare benefits will no longer be payable for services provided on diagnostic imaging equipment that exceeds its effective life age or maximum extended life except for those practices with a current approved exemption

From Friday 1 May 2021, all exemptions that allow for Medicare benefits to be paid for services provided using aged equipment will no longer apply. From this time onward, only diagnostic imaging services performed on equipment within its effective life age or maximum extended life will attract a Medicare benefit.

Find out more. 

The General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration (GPMHSC) is funded by the Federal Department of Health as part of the Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through the MBS (Better Access) initiative to accredit and promote mental health training and CPD for GPs.

The GPMHSC has launched the revised GP Mental Health Training Standards 2020–22 to support the development and uptake of high quality mental health and focussed psychological strategies skills training for GPs into the new triennium.

Access the 2020–22 standards on the GPMHSC website.

^Paid contribution.

The University of South Australia‘s (UniSA) Healthy Newborn Project is calling for Healthcare clinicians (GPs / midwives / nurses / community workers) who provide antenatal care (with or without ultrasound) to participate in a survey investigating the use of antenatal ultrasound in rural/remote Australian communities. 

A $1000 prize/scholarship random draw is offered.

The data collected will provide evidence to inform governments of potential solutions to improve maternal and fetal wellbeing. Frontline healthcare professionals’ feedback is vital to this process.

Complete the survey.

This survey has ethics approval from the UniSA Human Ethics Research Committee and is endorsed by ASUM and ISUOG. This survey is funded by The Hospital Research Foundation.

For more information, please email amber.bidner@unisa.edu.au