No 0912: April 16, 2009
eNews is a weekly electronic newsletter sent to all GP practices
(with email addresses) within the
Editorial PIP Ehealth Update
Chronic
Disease Management Life! - Taking action on diabetes
programs
Professional Development CPD events
Immunisation Immunisation Question, Gardasil reminder
Information
Management includes General Computer Tip, Medical
Director Tips and New on the Web
Items of
interest Life in the
Medical Workforce, GP Network News, BECC waiting times
News for
Practice Staff Pathological Behaviours in the
Workplace, New Training Sessions Available, Wound
Awareness Campaign, Practice
Nurses with Interesting Hobbies
Paediatrics Paediatric upskilling - A Practical Approach to the Management of Autism, Childhood Allergies Active Learning Module
Women’s Health Natural Fertility Enhancement
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is some confusion when completing the PIP eHealth Application Form.
iKey or Smart Card? – the iKey is
the better way to go as 95% of practices have opted for it. Who wants a card
reader on their desktop? The exception is if you have Terminal Services or a
Macintosh, in which case you need the Smart Card.
Must I fill in which eClinical resources the doctors
will have available from their desktops? The answer is “yes” but if you have
left it blank you will be given an opportunity later to fill it in. It is up to
the practice to determine which electronic clinical resources meet the specific
eligibility criteria of the eHealth Incentive and the unique needs of their
patients and practice setting. There will be NO definitive list of compliant
resources published; any published lists are a guide only.
Practices/practitioners need to determine which resources best meet their own
requirements. Do not rely solely on claims made by third parties that use
of such a product ensures compliance.
This was the advice received from Medicare/AAPM/RACGP at the time of writing. We suggest you complete the Application Form after you have attended our PIP eHealth Forum on April 23 and to keep an eye on the Q&As on the DoHA website and to call the PIP Hotline on 1800 222 032 if in doubt.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Life!” is a lifestyle modification program which can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. Studies show that lifestyle modification, particularly weight loss and increasing physical activity can significantly reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. “Life!” is a 5 x 2 hour session program, with a follow up session 6 months later, run by a Dietician, Physiotherapist, Podiatrist and Community Health Nurse. Eligibility Criteria: 40 years plus, Score 15 or more on Diabetes Risk Test.
Nillumbik Community Health Service,
Alphington Sports Medicine,
The AUSDRISK test and Life! Program referral forms are available from www.diabeteslife.org.au or by calling 13 RISK (13 7475).
See under CPD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Royal Children’s Hospital in partnership with Divisions of General
Practice is offering you the opportunity to gain 40 Cat 1 points. The aim of
this program is to provide education that will help with the diagnosis,
management and prevention of allergic disease in children.
Wednesday, May 20th 6.30pm – 9pm at Royal Children’s Hospital. Main Speaker: Associate Professor Mimi Tang, Head – Department of Immunology, Royal Children’s Hospital. Click here for registration
Meetings are held each Tuesday starting at 12.30 in the
Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor,
April 21 - Pulmonary Hypertension - Dr Chris Worsnop
For full term Tuesday lecture program click here
Austin Health - Division
of Medicine Grand Round
“A clot
buster’s secret life in the brain” Speaker: Associate Professor Robert Medcalf,
Australian Centre for Blood Diseases
Wednesday 22nd April, 12:10pm at John Lindell Lecture Theatre, Level 4,
GP Workshop in Skin Cancer Basic Techniques: a hands-on practical workshop. Saturday, 2nd May, 8.45 am-4pm. Strictly 28 places only so get in early. Accommodation deal available at Metropole Apartments for rural GPs and/or families. See: www.svhm.org.au/gp for flyer or contact Paul Williamson on 9288 2986 or paul.williamson@svhm.org.au
Learn “who to inject and how to do it”
using realistic joint models of shoulder, knee elbow and wrist in small groups
of 5 GPs per instructor. Workshop leader: Dr Keith Lim, Rheumatologist at
For further information see flyer and registration form
Annual Diabetes
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question from Michelle Wills, Program Consultant, General Practice Victoria:
DHS took a call from a GP clinic this morning where their Medical Director IT system would only let them select Infanrix IPV rather than Infanrix hexa at 6 months of age. The doctor said that they could report hexa on Medical Director a few months ago at this schedule point but not now! Is this an issue that other people are hearing about?
Answer: This appears to me to be a random error in MD. I checked a half dozen kids files aged between 4 months & 4 yrs of age in MD3 at my practice. When the check box opened, some offered Infanrix-Hexa as 1 of 6 options for combo vaccines, whereas some offered Infanrix-IPV as 1 of only 2 options for combo vaccines.
Whilst that is annoying, there is no real problem because, in all cases, the manual drop down box that is used to enter ‘Other Vaccine’ listed all vaccines including Hexa. That’s my read on it.
The availability of free vaccine for 18 to 26 year old women has been extended by 6 months. All females in this age group who are as yet un-immunised need to receive their first dose of the vaccine by 30 June 2009, and must complete all three doses by 31 December 2009.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
When you open a Word attachment from Outlook the document opens in “Reading Layout” view (or is that “Reading Pane/Pain”?). This is the default setting when you use Word as your email editor in Outlook. You need to get rid of it!!
Turn off reading layout view - Open Word and on the Tools menu, click Options and then select the General tab. Clear the “Allow starting in Reading Layout” check box.
Whilst in Progress Notes you can choose Procedure or Reason to record a coded item for the visit. They both use the same DOCLE database of coded items. If you select Reason that item is automatically added to the “Reason for Contact” column of the Progress Notes. With Procedure you have a “Save as reason for contact” checkbox so you have a choice whether to record the item as the reason for contact. Remember though, if you record several reasons for contact, it is the last one that is recorded in the “Reason for contact” column of the Progress Notes – this is based on the assumption that patients save “the best” till last.
Question: Our practice nurse has been saving recall letters without any ID, just in letters file, and summary of the action does not appear in progress notes. They are done as a mail merge. Can this process be augmented so when we open progress notes the action can be easily identified and followed up if need be?
Answer: When a recall mailmerge occurs a copy of the recall letter is put into the Correspondence file (this is a good thing). Nothing is put in Progress Notes. You should get a notification that the patient has new correspondence on opening the record, provided this feature is turned on. From the Tools menu select the Prompts tab and ensure there is a tick in the New Correspondence box.
Another feature to alert you is the appearance of the “bouncing” recall telephone if a recall is due within 30 days.
1. Childhood Allergies Active Learning Module – found under CPD Calendar
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Join the Doctors’ e-Cohort Study today! The Doctors' e-Cohort Study is a five year longitudinal study that will explore the complex factors influencing the health and wellbeing of Australian doctors and medical students, their career choices, and their recruitment and retention in metropolitan, rural and remote regions. By choosing to take part in this study, you will help us to understand what you find satisfying and frustrating about working in medicine. You can potentially help put in place state and national policies that will lead to more positive outcomes for practitioners and their patients. We invite all medical practitioners and medical students to participate in the study by logging on to the website at http://doctors.e-cohort.net
This week’s edition includes: AMA: Better broadband good for patients, Visiting Medical Officer tax and superannuation changes, AMA survey on pharmacist requests for prescriptions and Managing the risks of fatigue in general practice.
Waiting times for new referrals to Bundoora Extended Care Centre Inpatient Admissions are currently approximately Gem 0 - 7 days, Rehab 0 - 4 days as of 15.4.09. Any queries regarding our waiting times please contact Access BECC on 9495 3109
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A conference for all Nurses and other Health Care staff (from Ausmed). A
highly significant conference designed to explore the ever changing world of
interpersonal/organisational relationships. Listen to 9 speakers present
throughout the two days about these destructive issues and how to deal with
them. Delegates will learn how to reduce the adverse effects of these issues as
well as being offered some helpful workplace strategies. Thursday 21st May & Friday 22nd May at Hotel Ibis,
Ausmed Conferences -
Ausmed is a Melbourne-based education provider specialising in short, practical
courses. Ausmed offers a large range of practical courses run over one or two
days. Conferences on a range of topics can also be found on this website. For
further information please telephone: (03) 9375 7311
The Elephant in the Room wound awareness campaign is nationwide on behalf of The Australian Wound Management Association (AWMA) that seeks to draw attention to the serious problem of chronic wounds, a condition that affects of 270,000 Australians each day. Practice Nurses and GPs are being encouraged to sign the online petition to help raise awareness and raise standards of care for all and calling for Federal action. The link to the Petition is here
The Medical Observer magazine Practice Nurse Editor is looking for a practice nurses who has an interesting life outside of work? If you know of any nurses who have any time to do other things than work and family and would like a story written about themselves please contact Kathryn Eccles, Medical Observer, email: kathryn.eccles@medobs.com.au, or phone (02) 9902 7856
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like to join the next RACP vicFEAT paediatric upskilling session
on Wednesday 29th April, 7-8.30pm? The VicFEAT series is
popular among paediatricians and now open to GPs. You can participate at
the RACP (
See under CPD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ovulation Method Research and Reference Centre of Australia Ltd, an Accredited Provider with the RACGP will offer a 6 hour Active Learning Module entitled Natural Fertility Enhancement on 4th May 9.30am - 5.45pm, held at Rydges Bell City, Preston. For further information contact OMR&RCA on 03 9802 2022 or visit website.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please
note: only new ads, paid ads or resubmitted ads will be posted here. All other
ads can be found on the website
Doctors
Northcote – F/t P/T VR GP or Subsequent Trainee GP position. Fully accredited, computerised, long established doctor owned practice in a new purpose built facility with a fabulous work environment. Ancillary Health, Pharmacy and Pathology services on site. Inquiries Diane Cronin (Practice Manager) 9481 1214. Visit our website www.doctorsofnorthcote.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A pipe burst in a doctor's house. He called a plumber. The plumber arrived, unpacked his tools, did mysterious plumber-type things for a while, and handed the doctor a bill for $600.
The doctor exclaimed, "This is ridiculous! I don't even make that much as a doctor!"
The plumber quietly answered, "Neither did I when I was a doctor."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
And remember…
…the things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first.