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November 2002 |
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CONTENTS
NPS "The Leading Edge: New Drug Therapy Decision Making" Workshop
Draft 8th Edition Australian Immunisation Handbook
Divisions, Consumers and Communities
The Annual General Meeting of GPDV will be held on Sunday 17 November and will incorporate the election of Board members to fill the four positions that fall vacant this year, and the official release of the 2002 Annual Report (copies of which have already been provided to divisions and other key stakeholders).
The AGM will be followed by the regular Quarterly Forum whose topic is "General Practice Quality, Viability, Vitality", the ADGP Roadshow showcasing the results of the Alternative Models to Corporatisation projects. Also on the agend will be the hot topic: The Review of the Divisions Program.
NPS "The Leading Edge: New Drug Therapy Decision Making" Workshop
On Saturday 19th October, the National Prescribing Service (in conjunction with GPDV) ran this workshop at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. The program consisted of short, sharp talks by experts in clinical therapeutics, covering a range of topics such as "Bupropion (Zyban�) 18 months on: who has stopped smoking?" and "Tramadol (Tramal�): codeine substitute or quiet achiever?". More than sixty GPs and pharmacists attended.
Feedback on the usefulness of the workshop, or requests for further such workshops, can be directed to either Peter Larter (GPDV) on (03) 9341 5221, or Gwen Higgins (NPS) on (02) 9699 4499.
At its first meeting after the annual election the Board of ADGP elected Dr Rob Walters (Urban, Tasmania) as the new Chair of ADGP.
The new Vice Chair will be Dr Vlad Matic (Rural, NSW); Dr Ralph Chapman (Rural, WA) will chair the Rural Sub-Committee.
The Review of the role of divisions of general practice was announced by the Minister, Senator Kay Patterson, on 8 October. The Chair of the Review Panel, Ron Phillips, said at the ADGP forum on 8 November that as well as looking for success stories and examples of the value of divisions in the rollout of programs that involve GPs, the panel wants people to tell them why a program has been successful and whether it can be replicated elsewhere. They also hope to hear from people with a clear vision for the future of the Program, who have thought through how divisions can make the most effective contribution to improving the health of their communities. They are aware of the importance of links with State Health Departments and local agencies and of the need for divisions to keep the support of their GP members while the Program develops.
Panel�s proposed process
The panel has invited all divisions and about 180 other organisations across Australia, including state health departments, to make submissions by Friday 20 December. They also invited any of those organisations that want to meet the panel to say so by 8 November so that the panel can schedule meetings during their visits to the states and territories.
The review does not intend to limit submissions to those organisations specifically invited. It placed advertisements in newspapers on 2 November calling for submissions from those with an interest in the review.
This is a rare chance to influence the development of a Commonwealth Program that can, if it develops as it should, make an increasing contribution to improving both primary and acute care services at the state level.
The panel will visit all states and territories between 18 November and 17 December (Melbourne 9 December) for initial meetings with divisions, SBOs and other organisations and to get a �snapshot' of the Divisions Program. They will then read the submissions in the first weeks of January and decide what further meetings and consultations are needed to cover the key issues arising from the visits and submissions.
A copy of the terms of reference
for the review and information on how to make a submission are at
www.health.gov.au/hsdd/gp/submiss/subdivs.htm or contact Michelle
Williams via email
review.of.gp.divisions@health.gov.au or telephone
02 6289 3622. The advertisement calling for submissions is in the section on the
Review on the GPDV website at www.gpdv.com.au
under "What�s New."
Draft 8th Edition Australian Immunisation Handbook
The public consultation process and a separate public consultation on the proposed inclusion of meningococcal C conjugate vaccine to the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule (ASVS), commenced on Saturday 5 October. The due date for submissions is Friday 8 November.
Copies of both documents are available from the Immunise Australia website, follow the links from:
The new Victorian urban director on ADGP�s board is Dr Chris Pearce (Whitehorse) who was elected by Victorian urban divisions in a three-way contest with Dr Michael Nolan (Central Bayside) and Dr Nathan Pinskier (Monash). Chris, who joined the board of ADGP in Brisbane on 11 November for its first meeting after the elections, has asked GPDV to help him in setting up a process for reporting to urban divisions and getting their feedback on matters to raise with ADGP.
Divisions, Consumers and Communities
Consumer and Community Engagement is one of seven key result areas within the GPDV strategic plan for 2001-2004. In 2001, GPDV conducted an audit of the relationship between Victorian divisions and their local communities. The report detailing the results is now available on GPDV�s website.
Some of the findings of the audit include:
The report can be viewed at www.gpdv.com.au/consumers/
HARP GP Hospital Working Party
Dr John McEncroe, Chair of GPDV, has been selected to Chair the HARP GP-Hospital Interface Working Party. There are six working parties established by DHS to inform the next HARP funding round. The GP Hospital Working Party comprises representatives of hospitals, divisions, AMA, DHS, DoHA and practice nurses. The purpose of the working party is to investigate the GP-hospital interface and to make recommendations for strengthening that interface both through the next HARP funding round in March and in the longer-term future.
GPDV have been successful in securing a contract to resource this Working Party. This entails Lenora Lippmann undertaking a literature review, analysing the data available to ascertain any opportunities for enhanced co-ordination, undertaking a consultation with hospitals and divisions, and assisting the working party in deciding upon its recommendations. In conducting the consultation Lenora will conduct a series of selected interviews with some HARP hospitals and their respective divisions, hold a workshop for GP Liaison Officers workshop, and distribute a written questionnaire to State-wide hospitals and HARP designated hospitals and their respective divisions that were not selected for interview.
A copy of this questionnaire is available from Lenora Lippmann on 9341 5200 or email l.lippmann@gpdv.com.au
The Q Fever Program continues although the service delivery reimbursement from DHS has ceased. Due to the phenomenal success of this program through general practice, 20,000 shearers and farmers have been tested for Q fever and vaccinated when required. Several Divisions have now moved on to assisting their GPs to run user-pays clinics. The vaccine and test remain free of charge. Further training for GPs is in the pipeline with a train-the-trainer model proposed.
Sun 17
Forum & AGMMonash Conference Centre
Fri 22
Continuing Professional Development Coordinators MeetingRWAV
Fri 29
Negotiation Skills for GPDV RepsSaville on Russell
Victorian women�s health and wellbeing strategy
GDDV provided a GP representative to the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Women�s Health in 2001-02. A statewide strategy has been developed over this time (located within DHS), and was launched in August by the Health Minister.
The annual action plan includes some areas relevant to GPs, including:
GPDV has provided divisions with further details. The Women�s Health and Wellbeing Strategy can be found at www.women.vic.gov.au