North East Valley DGP eNews

No 0817: May 29th, 2008
eNews is a weekly electronic newsletter sent to all GP practices (with email addresses) within the NEV catchment. The aim is to provide up to date information relevant to GPs and to disseminate the latest activities and resources from the division. All feedback and enquiries welcome and should be addressed to Patty Marshall. You can also visit our website at: http://www.nevdgp.org.au/.
To subscribe to eNews click on subscribe. To be removed from the eNews distribution list click on Unsubscribe

 

In this issue:

Chronic Disease Management         Life! referral forms available online, National Diabetes Week 2008 Campaign Resources   

Professional Development               CPD events          

Immunisation                                   GPII SIP Payment Removed, MIA Split, Division Immunisation Coverage falls below 90%, SMS Reminders for Gardasil          

Information Management                includes Medical Director tips and New on the Web

Items of interest                               Better patient care through high quality referrals, GP Tour of the New Royal Women’s Hospital, GP Network News, BECC waiting times    

Mental Health                                  Small group learning module          

News for Practice Staff                    Preventing Osteoporosis and Reducing Fracture Risks - rescheduled

Women’s Health                              O & G Referrals, GP Interventions to Improve Childhood Outcomes   

Positions vacant/wanted                     

Fun stuff                                              

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Chronic Disease Management

Life! referral forms available online

Life! Taking Action on Diabetes is a six session diabetes prevention program for people aged 50 and over, at high risk of type 2 diabetes. Referral forms are available for the Life! program here. The form is available for Medical Director, Best Practice, Zed Med, GP Complete as well as Microsoft Word. Directions for upload into the medical software are listed on the website.

For further information on Life! visit the website www.diabeteslife.org.au or contact Angie Deegan on 9341 5247 or a.deegan@gpv.org.au.  

 

National Diabetes Week 2008 Campaign Resources

Diabetes Australia will launch a new campaign on Sunday 13 July to mark the beginning of National Diabetes Week 2008. The campaign will focus on family history and overweight or obesity as key risk factors in the development of type 2 diabetes. Your general practice can order a campaign kit to support practice-based awareness activities.

The kit includes: Information sheets, poster, Diabetes data information, tape measures. To download your order form visit www.diabetesvic.org.au (under Latest News & Research) or call 1300 136 588.

 

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CPD

Immunisation Education - Joint Northern and North East Valley Divisions

Wednesday 4 June 7:00pm - 9:00pm (Dinner from 6.45pm) at John Scott Meeting House, La Trobe University, Bundoora. (enter via car park 7). For medical practitioners, practice nurses and pharmacists. What’s new in the 9th edition immunisation handbook and changes to the March 1 Immunisation Schedule. Speaker: Dr Peter Eizenberg. 4 category 2 CPD points, 2 CPE points (pharmacists). Flyer.

 

Term 2 GP Lecture Program

Meetings are held each Tuesday starting at 12.30 in the Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor, Pathology Building, Repatriation Hospital, Austin Health, West Heidelberg. Lunch is provided. Course Leader: Dr Vin Nursey Phone: 9457 1736

June 3 - Substance Abuse in Children/Adolescents - Dr Ian Rawlinson

For full term Tuesday lecture program click here

 

Austin Health - Division of Medicine Grand Round

Department of General Medicine (Med Unit 3) - “One Man’s Aspirations”

Speakers: Dr Gabriel Mak, Med 3 Registrar & Dr Patrick Charles, Infectious Diseases Consultant & General Medicine Consultant Physician

Wednesday 4 June, 2008 12:10pm at John Lindell Lecture Theatre, Level 4, Lance Townsend Building

Opposite Medical Library - followed by lunch in Zeltner Hall at 1:00pm

 

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Immunisation

GPII SIP Payment Removed!

The GPII SIP payment of $18.50 per WPE (whole patient equivalent) has been removed from the incentives program in immunisation as per the recent Federal Budget. The effective date is 1 September 2008. The last valid service date is 30/9/08 and the last reporting date to ACIR is 31/12/2008

 

MIA Split!

The Maternity Immunisation Allowance (MIA) will be split into 2 equal parts from 1/1/2009. The first payment between 18months and 2 years and the second payment between 4 yrs 3 mths and 5 years of age. Each payment is $118.35.

 

Division Immunisation Coverage falls below 90%!

Division has just recorded its lowest ever coverage rate for a GPII quarter.  The rate has dropped to 88.8%. All practices are encouraged to undertake a special effort to raise this coverage rate. Each practice will receive an ACIR 32A report in the next week that lists children due and overdue. Using this data and your ACIR20A data conduct an audit and undertake a catch-up program so that you not only ensure all children are up to date but also that you can claim the last of the SIP payments before they cease. Should you require any assistance with an audit, contact John Fletcher at the Division on 9496 4333 to arrange a mutually agreed date for a practice visit.

 

SMS Reminders for Gardasil

The cervical cancer website at: http://www.cervicalcancer.com.au/ provides a free SMS service to remind patients for their second and third Gardasil injections. Once on the site, click on the middle box on the left hand side that says “Free SMS/email reminders”. From there, patients (or clinic staff) can enter their details to receive reminders. 

An ideal time to register patients is post-vaccination before patients leave the clinic. It is a free service for the clinic and the patient and will be very helpful for those clinics that do not have the facility with their software to send SMS reminders.

Further information c/- CSL Biotherapies: Nicci Green, Vaccine Account Representative (Part time – Tues. & Wed.) Mobile: 0447 533 790 Email: nicci.green@csl.com.au or Nadine Francis, Vaccine Account Representative (Part time – Wed, Thur, Fri) Mobile: 0422 000 308 Email: nadine.francis@csl.com.au

 

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Information Management

Medical Director Tip - Finding those patients that haven’t been immunised with Gardasil

1.   Close any patient record.

2.   Open the patient database search

   MD2 – Search >Databases

   MD3 – Search >Patient…

3.   Enter the following search criteria in the following order:

MD2

Aged between 18 and 26           

Click in the NOT check box

Currently taking drug: Gardasil

MD3

Aged between 18 and 26           

Currently taking drug: Gardasil

Click in the NOT check box

4.   Click on Search.

5.   You may now wish to print the list and/or mailmerge a reminder letter.

 

This weeks IM problem - Alphabetising address book names

Question: Our practice has recently changed to MD3 and found that the address book is not working as well as before. If I want to find a person and I know their name, then I can easily find them from the main menu. However if I go into one of the drop down categories (e.g. psychiatrists) the entries are no longer listed alphabetically so I have to check every entry as I look for a particular name. Is there an easy way to fix this?

Answer: This is a known issue but there is an easy fix. Open your address book and choose your category (e.g. psychiatry). When the names appear they are not in alphabetical order. Click on the column heading (Name) and this will re-order the list in alphabetical order.

 

New on the Web

1.       Article by Peter Eizenberg on Budget announcement GPII SIP payment will cease 1 October 2008. See under Immunisation – Latest Updates and News

2.       Mental Health Small Group Learning – Information sheet under Mental Health – Latest News

 

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Items of Interest

Better patient care through high quality referrals

St. Vincent’s Health has recently developed GP Referral Guidelines for the Gastroenterology, Neurosurgery & Urology Clinics. The Referral Guidelines will be available from June 25th via a link from the GP Access Website at www.svhm.org.au/gp.

For further information, or to request a printed copy of our Referral Guidelines, please contact: Juliet Gavens, GP Liaison Unit Coordinator, St. Vincent’s Health on (03) 9288 4781 or email Juliet.GAVENS@svhm.org.au.

 

GP Tour of the New Royal Women’s Hospital

General Practitioners and their practice staff are invited to a 1 hour tour at 8am on Thursday 5th June. For further information and to RSVP please contact Dr Ines Rio on ines.rio@rwh.org.au by 30th May.

 

GP Network News

This edition contains General Practice Gets Shaved, Provision for GP MRI, Dr Rosanna Capolingua to Serve Second Year as Federal AMA President. Full version.

 

BECC waiting times

There are currently no waiting times for new referrals to Bundoora Extended Care Centre Inpatient Admissions. Any queries regarding our waiting times please contact Access BECC on 9495 3109

 

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Mental Health

Small group learning module

Are you interested in mental health training with a small group of similarly interested GPs at a convenient venue, about topics you have chosen? To find out more click here.

 

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News for Practice Staff

Preventing Osteoporosis and Reducing Fracture Risks – Invitation to Practice Nurses   

NB:This session has been cancelled and will be rescheduled on Thursday 7th August 08

Dr Mary Levidiotis, NPS Program Coordinator for NEVDGP & NDGP will present an interactive workshop for practices nurses focusing on preventing osteoporosis and reducing fracture risk in postmenopausal women. One in two women and one in three men over the age of 60 are at risk of an osteoporotic fracture.  A ‘real case’ study will be discussed. For further information and registration contact Janina on (03) 9496 4333

 

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Women’s Health

O & G Referrals

Dr Alex Eskander is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist who has commenced private practice at the Mercy Hospital for Women. He is available for receipt of referrals at University Department, Mercy Hospital for Women, 163 Studley Road, Heidelberg. Ph: 8458 4381. Trained at the Royal Women Hospital in Carlton, he is happy to look after high risk pregnancy and twins and low risk and has a special interest in Laparoscopic surgery.

 

GP Interventions to Improve Childhood Outcomes

An overview of use of psycho social screening in the antenatal and postnatal woman and breast feeding issues. Presenters: Dr Matthew Robson psychiatric registrar, Kerri McEgan,Nurse Unit Manager, Lactation and mercy@home Mercy Hospital for Women

Tuesday 3rd June 2008 7pm to 9pm (refreshments from 6.30pm) at Lecture Theatre, Level 4, Mercy Hospital for Women, Heidelberg. QA&CPD: 4 (Cat. 2) Women’s Health points approved. RSVP: Merran McDonald – 8458 4833 / mmcdonald@mercy.com.au or Janine Martin – 8458 4819

 

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Positions vacant/wanted

Please note: only new ads, paid ads or resubmitted ads will be posted here. All other ads can be found on the website

 

Positions vacant

Doctors

Kensington Doutta Galla Community Health Centre Medical Clinic is seeking VR GPs, part-time and flexible sessions available. In addition to general medicine other areas include Mental Health; Youth, Young Adults; Refugee and CALD communities. Fully accredited and computerised practice with Nurse Support: Practice, Community Health, Refugee Health and Mental Health Nurses on staff. Attractive salary including salary packaging or percentage of billings (excluding PIP). Research and special interests supported. Please contact: Janina on (03) 8378 1621 or email: janina.desilva@dgchs.org.au

 

Ivanhoe Medical Clinic - sessions for PT VR GP. Modern, large group with supportive colleagues and full time nurses, computerised, CDMs, mixed billing, flexible, friendly, no A/H, good remuneration. Contact Dr.Stephen Smith or Dr.David Doig on 03 9499 1245.

Practice Staff

Doutta Galla Community Health Service (DGCHS) - Coordinator - Client Services / Reception Full-time (with some flexibility). DGCHS is a leading community health service committed to servicing a diverse group of clients including newly arrived migrants and people with complex needs. DGCHS provides busy medical, dental and allied health practices. As the Client Services Coordinator you will provide leadership and direction to client services staff in the day-to-day operations of the four main DGCHS sites and be responsible for rostering of staff including managing absences. For further information and to obtain a detailed position description please email Anne Lennard, General Manager, Dental & Client Services anne.lennard@dgchs.org.au

   

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Humour

13, 13, 13

I was walking past the psychiatric wing of the hospital the other day, and all the patients were shouting ,'13....13....13'
The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the planks and looked through to see what was going on, and some bastard poked me in the eye with a stick!
Then they all started shouting '14....14....14'...

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