North East Valley DGP eNews

No 0835: October 9, 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/.
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In this issue:

Aged Care                                       Austin Aged Care Home Discharge Audit    

Chronic Disease Management         New PBS Listings for Diabetes, The Diabetes Complication and Assessment Service 

Professional Development               CPD events          

Immunisation                                   The HPV register and consent, Changes to Due and Overdue Rules for 4 year old children, Whooping Cough and Diabetes Targeted By New PBS Listings         

Information Management                RVEEH referral form now in MD and BP formats, also General Computer Tip, Medical Director Tips and New on the Web

Items of interest                               Family Drug Help, GP Network News          

Mental Health                                  Because Mental Health Matters, FaST Mini Conference, Help for people fighting depression, Introducing Tamar Black, Easy-To-Use Treatment Algorithm for PTSD, Working with Rainbow Families      

News for Practice Staff                    Practice Managers network meeting, AAPMVIC Breakfast Network Meeting, NPS Case Study Evening for Practice Nurses, Practice Nurse Scholarship Scheme, End of Year Session for Practice Nurses, RCNA 6th National General Practice Conference

Women’s Health                              Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology, Shared Maternity Care Lecture Series             

Positions vacant/wanted                     

Fun stuff                                              

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Aged Care

Austin Aged Care Home Discharge Audit

An audit of information sent at discharge to GPs and Aged Care Homes will be conducted by the Division from 13 October to 24 October. GPs whose patients have been discharged to residential aged care will be contacted by the Division to find out whether they received the appropriate discharge information in a timely manner.

 

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Chronic Disease Management

New PBS Listings for Diabetes

See under Immunisation

 

The Diabetes Complication and Assessment Service

The Diabetes Complication and Assessment Service (DCAS) is now into its 5th year. This outstanding ‘one stop’ diabetes service is available to all people living in the North East region of Melbourne.  The service provides a comprehensive annual assessment and complication screen. DCAS clinics are located at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Banyule CHS, Darebin CHS and Nillumbik CHS. Your clients will have access to our Diabetes team, including Endocrinologist, Diabetes Nurse Educator, Dietitian, Psychologist and Podiatrist. All it takes is a GP referral (found here) and completion of current pathology. Shortly after the client is seen a letter detailing results and a suggested management plan will be sent to the GP and the client. For further information contact karen.lamb@austinhealth.org.au or call 9496 5439.

 

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CPD

Term 4 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. October 14 - Pancreatic Disorders - Dr Alex Marshall

For full term Tuesday lecture program click here

 

Austin Health - Division of Medicine Grand Round

You are warmly invited to listen and participate in our annual hypothetical, facilitated by Avant. This year’s event will be set at St Elsewhere’s Hospital. A panel (and yourselves) will enthusiastically debate the issues of negligence. Wednesday 15th October 2008 at 12 noon prompt at John Lindell Lecture Theatre, Level 4, Lance Townsend Building (and afterwards for lunch at the Zeltner Hall)

 

GP Refugee Health Forum

Saturday 18 October, 9–5pm at Foundation House, 6 Gardiner St, Brunswick (lunch provided). Topics include Infectious Diseases, Vitamin D Update, Chronic Disease, Genetics for Refugees, Family Issues, Medicare issues and more. RSVP by 10 October to Kerry Barber, PivotWest on 9689 4566 or email kerryb@pivotwest.org.au

 

GP Workshop in Skin Cancer Basic Techniques: a hands-on practical workshop

St Vincent’s GP Education: 8.45 am - 4.15 pm Saturday October 25th 2008, 

THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN CANCELLED due to circumstances beyond our control. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes. Contact: Juliet Gavens: 9288 4781 or Juliet.gavens@svhm.org.au See: www.svhm.org.au/gp  

 

Minor Surgery for General Practitioners

Saturday and Sunday 29-30 November at Skills Laboratory, Level 1 East Wing Skills & Education Centre, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Corner of Spring Street and Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. This program aims to enhance the surgical skills required for minor surgical procedures most likely to be carried out by GPs in rural or remote settings where specialists are not readily available. This Active Learning Module has been approved by the RACGP QA&CPD Program. Total points: 40 (Category 1).Two-day course: $900 + GST = $990. Enquiries & registration form: Dr David Lawrence on Tel: (03) 9276 7455 or Emaildavid.lawrence@surgeons.org 

 

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Immunisation

The HPV register and consent

The HPV register is an ‘Opt Off’ register (like the Pap smear one). As per the information included in the templates on the AGPN website, there needs to be consent for the procedure and consent to send the data onto the register…. Verbal and noted in medical software or notes is sufficient!!

 

Changes to Due and Overdue Rules for 4 year old children

From January 1 2009 there will be changes to the due and overdue rules for vaccinations for 4 year old children. As part of the 2008-09 Budget process, the Government announced a measure to split the payment of the Maternity Immunisation Allowance (MIA) into two payments. From 1 January 2009 MIA will generally be paid in two payments, each equal to half the full current MIA rate at the time each claim is determined. To claim payment of MIA, the claimants must meet the immunisation eligibility requirement and lodge their claim on or before the child’s second birthday to receive the first split MIA payment. To receive the second split MIA payment or the full MIA payment where the first split payment has not already been received they must lodge their claim with the Family Assistance Office (at a Centrelink or Medicare office) before the child’s fifth birthday.

 

Whooping Cough and Diabetes Targeted By New PBS Listings

From 1 September 2008, the liquid form of clarithromycin will be available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for the treatment of pertussis or ‘whooping cough’, and for atypical Mycobacterium infections. An additional brand of blood glucose tests strips for diabetics will also be added to the PBS. The listing of the liquid form of clarithromycin (Klacid®) will offer patients more choice of treatment for pertussis and infections caused by mycobacteria, and in particular will help patients who have difficulty swallowing tablets. The tablet form is already PBS-listed.

Information about medicines subsidised by the Australian Government through the PBS is available at www.pbs.gov.au

 

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Information Management

RVEEH referral form now in MD and BP formats

The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital referral form is now available in Medical Director and Best Practice format templates for you to download. To access the templates please go to the “GP resources section” of the Eye and Ear Hospital website, under “Health Professionals”, at http://www.eyeandear.org.au/healthprofs/gpinfo.asp.  For any queries or more information, please contact the GP Liaison Officer, Dr Lina Nido at lina.nido@eyeandear.org.au or by phone (Tuesdays or Thursdays) 9929 8187.

 

General Computer Tip - Removing formatting

Sometimes you get text that is a mixture of fonts, sizes and colour and all you want is for it to become plain text. Simply highlight the text and press Shift + Control + N – this changes all the text to “normal”.

 

Medical Director Tip - Leaving room for a pre-printed letterhead

If you use pre-printed letterhead you need to leave space at the top of the template. Don’t press Enter several times to do this!! Instead, measure the distance the pre-printed letterhead takes and the from the File menu of LetterWriter select Page Setup. Change the top margin that reflect your previous measurement, e.g. change the top margin from 20 to 65.

 

This weeks IM problem - LetterWriter crashing in MD3

Question: I was hoping you could offer a solution to a problem I'm having with Medical Director 3, where when trying to complete a care plan (template developed from scratch) for a patient, MD 3 crashes, and I can't seem to rectify the problem. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Answer: If the template was created in MD2 originally I would suggest you modify the template (in MD3) and redo ALL the fields (i.e. delete the old field and then insert the field again). Even if created in MD3 try this anyway.

 

New on the Web

1.   Early Use of Insulin & Oral Antidiabetic Drugs – a course for nurses. Found under CPD Calendar of Events

                                                                   

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Items of Interest

Family Drug Help

Supports families who have members addicted to alcohol or other drugs. We can help you carry your load in caring for drug affected families. Ph 9573 1780 for a free poster and 50 brochures (this promotion seeks to engage the men in a family)

 

GP Network News

Full version.

 

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Mental Health

Because Mental Health Matters

The Department of Human Services has recently published, Because Mental Health Matters, their vision for the future of mental health services in our State. In part their vision is ….”to see a broader front door to the mental health system and a stronger role played by GPs and other primary providers in this”. Want more information or access to the document? Contact nicky@nevdgp.org.au

 

FaST Mini Conference

The 6th Annual FaST Mini Conference: “Did you hear about Fred?...they said he had a breakdown”  

Tuesday 14th October: 9am - 5pm Venue: The Bouverie Centre, 8 Gardiner Street Brunswick. Cost: $50 for workers, Free to consumers and families (Bookings Essential). This conference is open to individuals diagnosed with a mental illness, family members and mental health workers. For further information, contact Sue-Ellen Radford at The Bouverie Centre on 9385 5100

 

Help for people fighting depression

A new non-drug treatment for depression is showing promising results, according to research by the Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), the application of low-frequency magnetic pulses to the side of the head, is emerging as an effective non-invasive treatment for people with depression that to this point have not responded to medications or therapy. People who wish to find out more information about TMS at Northpark Private Hospital can contact the TMS Coordinator on: (03) 9467 6163.

 

Introducing Tamar Black, Psychologist:

Tamar Black practices in Lower Templestowe, Eltham and Armadale. She sees children, adolescents and adults, and has particular skills with depression, anxiety and eating disorders. She is currently completing a Ph.D on stress and coping. Tamar can be contacted on 9523 6755.

 

Easy-To-Use Treatment Algorithm for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

At any one time, 250,000 Australians have Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. The Australian Centre for Posttraumatic Mental Health has produced an easy-to-use algorithm outlining the treatment of adults with Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Based on the recently National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)-approved clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of adults with ASD and PTSD, the brochure has been produced in collaboration with the RACGP and the RANZCP, and has been approved by NHMRC and endorsed by the RANZCP, RACGP, and APS. To order your free copy of the brochure please use the following link: http://tinyurl.com/4286gd. Alternatively, you can download a PDF version of the brochure directly from:

http://www.acpmh.unimelb.edu.au/site_resources/pcl/algorithm.pdf with the username: acpmh and the password: acpmh_pcl

 

Working with Rainbow Families

Find out about working inclusively with same-sex attracted parents and their children, presented by the Rainbow Families Council. Friday 10th October, 9.30-12.30. At Thomas Rossell room, Banyule Community Health Service, Cnr Catalina St and Alamein Rd, West Heidelberg. For more details contact Paul Sutherland on 8480 3800 or Rachel Watts on 9430 3126. To register, please forward your details via email to Rachel Watts at rachelw@nchs.org.au 

 

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News for Practice Staff

Practice Managers network meeting – Better Practice Management

Thursday October 16th at La Trobe Uni. The emphasis will be on building skills for practice managers and nurses – using the PEN Clinical Audit Tool and your practice management software to produce reports through business modelling processes. You are then able to present this information in graphical form to practice team meetings. [Application Form]

 

AAPMVIC Breakfast Network Meeting

Wednesday 22nd October, 9.00 am – 10.30 am (Registration from 8.30 am) Melbourne Zoo Function Centre, Parkville. Registeration: Members: $66 Non Members: $99. AAPM Continuing Professional Development Points (CPD Points) – 2. Flyer

 

NPS Case Study Evening for Practice Nurses - Early Use of Insulin & Oral Antidiabetic Drugs

Presented by Dr Mary Levidiotis – NPS Facilitator, NEVDG & NDGP and Ms Kay Milner – GP Liaison, Banyule Community Health Service

Thursday October 30th 7.30pm - 8.30pm. Open to all Practice Nurses. For further information and to register, download invitation. For more information on ‘Diabetes - resources for identifying and managing "at risk" patients of developing type 2 Diabetes’ see the website

A list of diabetic resources including the SIP Diabetes Record, demonstration and discussed at the previous Diabetic Sessions has been created, we see this as a work in progress and we would appreciate your contribution. Email your information to Janina    

 

2008 Australian Government Practice Nurse Scholarship Scheme - Update (Application deadline extended to 5pm (EST) Friday 10th October)
For more details and to apply go to www.apna.asn.au  or
click here to apply online. There are also a limited number of Postgraduate scholarships available. For more details and to apply go to www.apna.asn.au or click here to apply online. If you have any questions please call the APNA office on 1300 303 184 or email scholarships@apna.asn.au  

 

Final End of Year Session for Practice Nurses – ‘Work/Life Balance – Looking After Yourself’

Tuesday 18th November, 6.30pm – 9.00pm at John Scott Meeting House. Presenter: Del Lovett, RN, Practice Nurse Leader. This workshop will include ideas to rejuvenate you and help you to consider the importance of your own health and well-being. Also an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on all that you have achieved during the past year. To register download an invitation. For further information contact Janina or telephone 9496 4333.  

 

RCNA 6th National General Practice Conference

Registrations are now open for the RCNA 6th National General Practice Conference to be held in Coffs Harbour from the 25th-27th November 08, Pacific Bay Resort, Coffs Harbour NSW. Early bird registrations close on the 14th October 08. To register visit http://www.rcna.org.au/UserFiles/RCNA%20GPN%20Prog%20Final.pdf

 

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Women’s Health

Paediatric and Adolescent Gynaecology

Tuesday 14th October 7-9pm (refreshments from 6.30pm) Presenters: Dr Paddy Moore & Dr Melissa Cameron – Gynaecologists. At Lecture Theatre, Level 4, Mercy Hospital for Women, Heidelberg. RSVP: Merran McDonald on 8458 4833 or email mmcdonald@mercy.com.au or Janine Martin on 8458 4819. QA&CPD: 4 (Cat. 2) Women’s Health points applied for.

 

Shared Maternity Care Lecture Series

Thursday October 30 & Thursday November 13, 7- 9.00 pm (Dinner and Registration from 6pm) Lecture Theatre, Education Centre at The Northern Hospital, 185 Cooper Street, Epping. (Parking: $5 hospital carpark or Epping Plaza carpark directly opposite) GP Chair – Dr Leonie Griffiths, GP Liaison, Northern Health

October 30 - Common Paediatric Problems in the Postnatal Period - Dr Wei Qi Fan  (Neonatologist) and Tricky Third Trimester Encounters - Dr Sarwat Shenouda (Obstetrician/Gynaecologist)

November 13 - Challenges in Shared Maternity Care - Dr Max Haverfield (Clinical Services Director, Women’s & Children’s Health, Northern Health) and Life after Birth – Recovery in the Postnatal Period - Dr Alison De Souza (Obstetrician/Gynaecologist). RSVP by October 16. Enquiries: Dr Leonie Griffiths or Sue Vallance on 8405 8705 or Email: Sue.Vallance@nh.org.au

 

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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

Ivanhoe Medical Clinic - sessions for PT or FT 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

Alphington - Permanent Part Time Medical Receptionist required for a busy Medical Centre. Duties to include immunisations, patient liaison, assessments & care planning triage, assisting medical staff and management of medical stock. Supportive working environment Must be computer literate & show initiative. Past Medical Receptionist experience would be an advantage as well as a working knowledge of Word. Please forward CV to bev@alphingtonmc.com.au

 

Dianella Community Health is looking for a health professional to join our team to project manage the development of a new program, Early Intervention in Chronic Disease Management. If you have proven project management skills, experienced in the chronic care field and are committed to the development of evidence based models of care this position will be ideal for you! Email Applications to: antoinette.mertins@dianella.org.au by October 15th 2008.

 

Sunrise Medical Centre - Full time Div 1 nurse required for busy, fully computerised and accredited medical practice. Must be experienced in triaging, immunisations, wound management and able to assist doctors with care plans & health assessments. Experience with Prac 2000 & Medical Director 2 an advantage. Applications to rose@sunrisemedicalcentre.com.au or contact Rose on 9432 0055

 

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Humour

Some advice

The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up.

Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

To succeed in politics, it’s often necessary to rise above your principles.

The lower you set the bar, the easier it is to achieve your goals.

 

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