No 1011: April 15, 2010
eNews is a weekly electronic newsletter
sent to all GP practices (with email addresses) within the
Editorial A Word from the Editor
Chronic Disease Management New online training: Putting
diabetes guidelines into practice, Getting Started - Type 2 Diabetes Program,
Supermarket Tours
Professional Development CPD
events
HMR HMR
study
Immunisation Hepatitis
C Alert, Influenza season 2010
Information Management Medical Director Tips
Items of interest Volunteers Wanted for Heart
Research, GP Network News
Men’s Health Type
1 in the City - Men’s Business
Mental Health Psychiatrist
Accepting New Patients
News for Practice Staff Graduate Certificate: Nursing in General
Practice, Respiratory small group learning session for Nurses, AGPN NIGP
orientation program, Triage Training for Practice Staff
NPS NPS
Audit Update, NPS Program Update
Women’s Health Sexual
Health Update, The Ins and Outs of Vaginal and Breast
Health
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Please note there was no eNews last week as the
editor (and her partner) took a week off for piscatorial activities. The
previous week’s eNews, under “Fun Stuff” had a link
to Adelie penguins taking to the air to escape the Antarctic cold and flying
thousands of miles to the rainforests of
Please note that the Medical Director tip of the April 1 edition was also a joke – sorry if it got your hopes up.
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Diabetes guidelines and their application in general practice is the
focus of a new active learning module (ALM) from the
The online activity has been designed to help provide optimal primary care management to patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This activity aims to improve the duration and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes by examining and implementing the new Diabetes Guidelines for General Practice 2009-10. The learning tool is now available on the RACGP’s online education portal, gplearning, at www.gplearning.com.au. See media release.
Diabetes
Diabetes
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Meetings are held each Tuesday starting at 12.30 in the
Lecture Theatre, Ground Floor,
April 20 - Travel Medicine Update - Dr Patrick Charles
For full term Tuesday lecture program click here
Wednesday
28th April, 6.30-9.30pm (Registration: 6pm) at John Scott
Meeting House,
For GPs, Practice staff and Practice nurses, presented by: Mr David Bourke. Flyer and registration here.
Thursday
29th April 7-9pm (dinner and registration from 6.30pm) at
John Scott Meeting House,
Wednesday 21st April, 6.15pm – 9.15pm ‘Asthma and Allergy’ by Michael Sutherland, ‘Chronic Lung Diseases’, by Piers Canty, ‘Sleep Disorders’, by Dr Marcus McMahon at Epworth Richmond Auditorium, Level 2, 89 Bridge Road, Richmond. RSVP: Jenny Jones Ph: 9426 8997 Email: jenny.jones@epworth.org.au 4 CPD points
Diabetes
Wednesday 21st April 7.30pm (Light supper served from 7pm) at Charles
Latrobe Theatre, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Function and Convention Centre,
Ground Floor, Grattan Street, Carlton. To register please
call 1300 136 588.
Monday 10th May - Arthritis
Thursday 20th May 9.30am-4.30pm (Registration: 9am) Seminar on Combating the Wound Epidemic - The roles of Nutrition, Assessment and Pressure Reduction at Ivanhoe Town Hall - The Centre, 275 Upper Heidelberg Rd, Ivanhoe. Application. Program.
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Another study has just been published demonstrating the benefits of HMRs and the need for greater flexibility to the HMR model with more focused targeting on patients most likely to benefit. The study was a retrospective cohort study conducted on DVA patients, comparing 816 veterans on warfarin who had received a HMR by an accredited pharmacist with 16320 patients on warfarin with no HMR. The population dispensed warfarin was associated with a 79% reduction in the likelihood of hospitalisation due to a bleeding event in the time period 2 to 6 months after the HMR. The effect was time-limited to 6 months, supporting the model of HMRs every 6 months for people on warfarin. Educational interventions by accredited pharmacists need to be continually and routinely followed up and reinforced by the dispensing pharmacist and/or repeat HMR in 6 months for the effect to be sustainable. The authors concluded that "HMR should be recommended six monthly for high risk patients”.
E. E. Roughead,
J. D. Barratt, E. Ramsay, N. Pratt, P. Ryan, R. Peck, G. Killer, A. L. Gilbert Collaborative home medicines review delays
time to next hospitalization for warfarin associated
bleeding in Australian war veterans. Journal 0f Clinical
Pharmacy & Therapeutics April 2010
Further
information about HMRs from Jenny Gowan at the
Northern & NEV Divisions. Ph 9416 7689
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The Victorian Department of Health has identified a cluster of hepatitis C
cases among patients treated by a medical professional in
Influenza season 2010
The influenza season has officially begun and for the
first time people who are at severe risk of complications are eligible to
receive the vaccination for free. All people aged six months and over with
medical conditions putting them a high risk of complications from severe
influenza may be eligible for free vaccine. Patients at risk include: pregnant
women, people 65 years of age or older, all Indigenous Australians aged 15
years and over and anyone with conditions including: Cardiac disease, Chronic
respiratory conditions, Chronic illnesses requiring regular medical follow-up
or hospitalisation in the preceding year, Chronic neurological conditions,
People with impaired immunity & Children aged six months to 10 years
receiving long-term aspirin therapy. For more information please visit www.fightflu.gov.au/questions
or http://www.isg.org.au/
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It is a good
exercise to create a list of all your pregnant patients and check whether they are
still pregnant or not. You may find this hard to believe, but some GPs neglect
to record the end of a pregnancy once the baby is born. And as you know a
pregnancy of 4 years can lead to babies the size of elephants.
Question: How do I identify “blow-in” patients that haven’t
been inactivated once they leave the practice? Our practice is near the snow
fields and we would like to clean up our database so that we are providing a
truer picture of our practice population. Currently it is somewhat skewed
because of all the terrorists tourists
on the books.
Answer: Let’s say your practice is in NSW – probably
because the ski fields are better than
You will need
to Print this list and someone will
have to call up and delete (inactivate) these patients one by one.
You may wish to
call up the QLD, SA and WA postcodes next but there won’t be many because they
can’t ski. And yes, I know, I forgot
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The Cardiology Department at Austin Health is running a study examining the
function of the lining of blood vessels in the eyes and the arms. This project
has been approved by the Austin Health Human Research Ethics Committee. If you
have two or more risk factors of Ischaemic Heart
Disease, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, a family history
of heart attacks or a history of smoking, this study will be suitable for you.
All tests will be done at the Cardiology Department, Level 5 North,
If you would like more information, please contact Dr Ali Al-Fiadh on 0421 909 317 OR email ali.al-fiadh@austin.org.au.
This week’s edition includes: Health reform plans must be agreed and supported, not stalled, Report shows nursing home residents are missing out on medical care and health monitoring, AMA position statement on doctors’ relationships with industry, AMA position statement on medical professionalism.
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Dr Chris Davey has commenced private practice with The Melbourne Clinic in
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The Graduate Certificate in Nursing (General Practice) has been operating
since 2006 and has proven to be an extremely successful teaching development in
the general practice environment. It has been developed in consultation with
The University of the
For further information please contact Connie Ryan, Principal Network Advisor for Nursing in General Practice at cryan@agpn.com.au or 02 6228 0820.
Thursday 22nd April 7-9pm, registrations from 6.30pm. At North East Valley Board Room (Map)
First session will be presented by Ms Alex Ehert, Respiratory Outreach, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Austin Health - Topics will include: Prevalence of COPD, Optimum use of medication, Smoking cessation, breathlessness management strategies, referral pathways, strengthening the relationship between PNs and Austin Health and “there is no health without mental health”.
Second session will be presented by Ms Suzie Stillman, Quit Victoria Educator and Trainer who will provide information and an overview of Quit training packages for practice nurses. See flyer or for further information please contact Janina or Wendy.
This new online AGPN NIGP orientation program is now available on the AGPN web site. Click here to get on to the program.
Wednesday
23rd June, 7-9pm (Registration: 6pm) at impetus (new office)
Level 1,
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See here for an audit status update as well as audits for the new QPI PIP year. Note all clinical audits have been approved by the RACGP QA&CPD Program, total points 40 (Category 1) and the ACRRM PD Program for 30 points (extended skills) in the 2008–2010 triennium. Enrolment for all audits is available online at www.nps.org.au/health_professionals.
Please note Dr
A few of her NPS colleagues,
including Ms Melanie Hay, will be covering some of Mary’s visits during this
period. These “locum” NPS facilitators are all currently working for local
Divisions and will offer the same high quality service that you have become
used to. Please make them welcome when they arrive.
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Family Planning Victoria (FPV) is pleased to send you the latest edition of our organisational newsletter, Sexual Health Update. We aim to inform you of current issues surrounding sexual and reproductive health, as well as providing updates on FPV news and events. Sexual Health Update April 2010
Wednesday 28 April, at 2.15pm Presented by The Jean Hailes
Foundation for Women’s Health. Attend via
videoconference: Individual and
site registrations 03 9927 7777 or email events@gthevents.com or online www.gthevents.com. Or attend in person at
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Please note: only new ads or resubmitted ads will be posted here. All other
ads can be found on the website
Doctors
Practice
Staff
Bulleen – Medical practice requires a temporary, full time receptionist for 6th-28th May (inclusive). Contact Glenda on 9850 1432.
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A couple decide to elope and get married but on the way to the Registry
office they are involved in a fatal car crash.
They find themselves standing next to St Peter waiting to be let into Heaven.
While waiting for him to finalise the paperwork, the couple ask if it's
possible for them to get married in Heaven.
"I don’t know," says St Peter. "This is the first time I have
ever been asked. Let me go and find out ."
After eight weeks waiting, St Peter returns and tells the couple that they can
indeed get married, if they so wish.
However, during the long wait the couple have had time to think long and hard
about their relationship and what might happen if the marriage doesn't work out
(eternity is quite a long time after all).
So they ask St Peter if they can get divorced if it all goes wrong. St Peter
goes red in the face and slams down his paperwork:
"Oh come on!" he shouts, 'It's taken me two months to find a priest
up here, do you have any idea how long it will take to find a lawyer?”
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And remember…
… A bargain is something you can't use at a price you can't resist.