GP Matters
Issue 73
January/February 2015
IN THIS ISSUE
»» GP partners Australia now on
Ground Floor, 120 Hutt Street,
Adelaide
»» Cardiovascular Update Day for
Practice Nurses
»» New ADF Post Discharge GP
Health Assessment
VALE MR. IAN DUNN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER GP PARTNERS AUSTRALIA
PAGE 2
»» GP Obstetric Shared Care
Protocols – 2014 New Version
»» SA Pregnancy Record Version
7 – 2015
»» News of interest
PAGE 3
»» Advertisements
PAGE 4
»» Upcoming event summary
PAGE 5
The Board and staff of GP partners Australia would like to notify our members
with great sadness that Mr Ian Dunn, Chief Executive Officer passed away on
January 14th.
Ian had been a driving force reforming and transitioning the prior Adelaide
Central and Eastern Division of General Practice to GP partners Australia from
December 2007 until January 2015. His seven years of valuable service, leadership,
intellect, energy and drive will always be remembered.
Rest in peace, Ian.
AS/NZS ISO
9001:2008
Certificate Number:
QEC22413
SAI Global
120 Hutt St Adelaide SA 5000
PO Box 7293, Hutt Street SA 5000
Phone: 8112 1100
Fax: 8227 2220
www.gppaustralia.org.au
GP partners Australia
G P M AT T E R S
GP PARTNERS AUSTRALIA
NOW ON GROUND FLOOR, 120
HUTT STREET, ADELAIDE
The GP partners Australia offices are now located on the
Ground Floor of 120 Hutt St, Adelaide. All phone and
contact details remain the same.
partners Australia on (08) 8112 1100. Please note: $100
participant fee applies. Fee includes lunch, morning and
afternoon tea, education and materials.
NEW ADF POST DISCHARGE
GP HEALTH ASSESSMENT
All former serving Australian Defence Force (ADF)
CPD events will continue to be held on the first floor in members can now access a comprehensive health assessthe Education Room. However, the light meal will be ment from their GP.
served on the Ground Floor.
The assessment is available to all former serving members
If you have any questions, please contact Kay Gallary, of the ADF, including members of the reserve forces. A
Acting Chief Executive Officer on 8112 1100 or email rebate is available for this assessment under items 701,
kgallary@gppaustralia.org.au
703, 705 and 707 on the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
CARDIOVASCULAR UPDATE
DAY FOR PRACTICE NURSES
One of the key objectives of this assessment is to help GPs
identify and diagnose any early signs of physical and/or
mental health problems among veterans.
DVA has worked with Flinders University to design an
assessment tool to support the health assessment. The
tool assists GPs to assess a patient’s current physical and
psychological wellbeing. It includes specific screening
tools for common mental health problems facing ADF
members including; alcohol use, substance use, post trauA range of experienced and knowledgeable speakers will matic stress disorder and psychological distress.
present at this event including Kate Pennington – Nurse
Education Facilitator with the State-wide Cardiology This assessment tool has been incorporated into the
Clinical Network, Debra Rowett – Service Director at Best Practice and Medical Director Practice softWhere these software packages
the Drug and Therapeutic Information Service (DATIS) ware packages.
aren’t
available,
GPs
can access the tool on the DVA
and Gill Dowie – TIA Clinical Practice Consultant at the
At Ease Professional website (http://gplink.co/emmmg).
Royal Adelaide Hospital.
GP partners Australia will be kicking off our Practice
Nurse education for 2015 with a Cardiovascular Update
Day on Tuesday 17th March 2015. This full day workshop
aims to refresh your knowledge and skills in the management of patients with, or at risk, of cardiovascular disease.
Designed specifically for practice nurses, this workshop
will update your skills in the assessment and management
of chest pain, knowledge of medicines used in the management of dyslipidaemia, hypertension and cardiovascular conditions, and the acute and post-acute management
of TIA and stroke.
In addition to the assessment tool, a guide and quick
reference guide for this health assessment are currently
being developed. These resources will detail key actions
for positive screens, treatment options and referral pathways. These resources will be available early 2015.
Remember, it is always worth asking whether your patient
The workshop will include a practical ECG session to has served in the Defence Force.
refresh your skills in the correct technique when performing ECGs and knowledge of the ECG changes seen
in specific cardiac conditions. The Heart Foundation will
discuss useful tools and resources that can be used by
practice nurses in assessments, education and care planning for patients.
For further information and registrations, download the
event flier (click here - http://gplink.co/iyqec ) or phone GP
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January 2015 - Page 2
GP partners Australia
G P M AT T E R S
GP OBSTETRIC SHARED CARE
PROTOCOLS – 2014 NEW
VERSION
The South Australian GP Obstetric Shared Care
Protocols have been reviewed and the new 2014 version
is now available on the GP partners Australia website –
(http://gplink.co/rw1xx)
GP partners Australia administers the Program on behalf
of SA Health and is required to facilitate a review of the
Protocols every three years.
Women wishing to attend a South Australian public hospital (in metropolitan Adelaide, and Gawler) for childbirth have the option of GP obstetric shared care if they
meet the designated criteria. In this model, the General
Practitioner provides most of the antenatal and postnatal
care, while the public hospital staff provides the inpatient
and some outpatient obstetric care.
In South Australia, there are currently 617 GPs in 306
General Practices accredited in the Program. This is
the highest number recorded since the inception of the
Program.
If you wish to find out more about the Program,
please contact Janet Salamon on 8112 1100 or email
jsalamon@gppaustralia.org.au
SA PREGNANCY RECORD
VERSION 7 – 2015
The new SA Pregnancy Record Version 7 2015 is being
distributed to the SA Health Distribution Centre and will
be available for use as from January 2015.
It is important that the most current version of the SA
Pregnancy Record is used where possible.
All older versions of the record i.e. up to SA Pregnancy
Records Version 6 2014 should be returned to: Rhonda
Pfeiffer, Manager, Medical Records and Information, SA
Health, PO Box 287, Rundle Mall, Adelaide 5001.
NEWS OF INTEREST
HEALTH COMMITTEE INQUIRY MARKS
2015 AS YEAR TO TURN TIDE ON
HEPATITIS C EPIDEMIC
A House of Representatives Health Committee inquiry
into hepatitis C should be a catalyst that turns the tide on
the rising death toll from hepatitis C-related liver disease.
Hepatitis Australia welcomed the announcement of an
inquiry into hepatitis C, a blood- borne virus that affects
more than 230,000 Australians and will claim more than
650 lives this year alone.
“Many Parliamentarians are acutely aware of the looming tidal-wave of serious liver disease and preventable
deaths caused by a lack of regular liver health checks
and appallingly low hepatitis C treatment rates. Today’s
announcement shows real leadership by the House of
Representatives Health Committee to tackle the problem
head-on,” said CEO of Hepatitis Australia, Helen Tyrrell.
Ms Tyrrell explained that hepatitis C has long been in the
shadows, leading to an escalating burden of disease and
preventable deaths. “Shining the national spotlight on
hepatitis C is long overdue and hugely welcome,” she said.
Hepatitis C in Australia
»» Hepatitis C is 10 times more infectious than HIV and
affects 10 times more people in Australia than HIV.
»» Around 233,000 Australians are living with hepatitis
C, with approximately 8,000 new diagnoses each year.
Around one in six people with hepatitis C remains undiagnosed, and only a fraction of those who are diagnosed
– around one per cent – receive treatment each year.
»» Without a significant increase in treatment rates,
Australia faces a 230 per cent increase in liver-related
deaths due to hepatitis C by 2030.
For more information go to: hepatitisaustralia.com
To place an order, please complete the form at the following link: http://gplink.co/sdb2v
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January 2015 - Page 3
GP partners Australia
G P M AT T E R S
ADVERTISEMENTS
The products and services presented below are not
necessarily endorsed by GP partners Australia.
They are presented in good faith only as an
information service for members
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January 2015 - Page 4
GP partners Australia
G P M AT T E R S
UPCOMING EVENT SUMMARY
FEBRUARY 2015 - MARCH 2015
Full Senior First Aid Course
Date/Time Saturday, 7 February 2015 - 8:30am to 5:00pm
Target Audience Practice Nurses, Allied Health and General Practice Staff
Cost $130 participant fee applies
Venue GP partners Australia, First Floor, 120 Hutt Street Adelaide SA 5000
Presenter Peter Brown Medical Trainer, 4Life Personal Medical Training
Date/Time
Target Audience
Cost
Venue
Presenter
Inflammatory Skin Condition Update
Wednesday, 11 February 2015 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm
General Practitioners
GP Members - free, Affiliates & Non-members - $90
GP partners Australia, First Floor, 120 Hutt Street Adelaide SA 5000
Dr Karen Koh, Dermatologist
Sleep Apnoea - Diagnosis, Treatment and Licence Implications
Date/Time Wednesday, 18 February 2015 - 6:30pm to 9:00pm
Target Audience General Practitioners
Cost GP Members - free, Affiliates & Non-members - $90
Venue GP partners Australia, First Floor, 120 Hutt Street Adelaide SA 5000
Presenter Dr Peter Allcroft, Respiratory Physician
Type 2 Diabetes Management in General Practice - 40pts
Date/Time Saturday, 21 February 2015 - 9:00am to 4:15pm
Target Audience General Practitioners
Cost GP Members - free, Affiliates & Non-members - $90
Venue GP partners Australia, First Floor, 120 Hutt Street Adelaide SA 5000
Presenter Dr Elaine Pretorius, Endocrinologist, Ms Chris Boorman, CDE, Ms Lynne Corbett,
Podiatrist, Ms Kerryn Boogaad, APD
GP Obstetric Shared Care Accreditation Seminar
Date/Time Saturday, 14 March 2015 - 8:30am to 4:00pm
Target Audience Obstetric Shared Care General Practitioners
Cost Free
Venue Adelaide Pavilion, Cnr South Tce and Peacock Roads, Adelaide SA 5000
Presenter Multiple speakers including Dr C Sexton, Dr S Joseph and Dr R Grivell
Cardiovascular Update Day for Practice Nurses
Date/Time Tuesday, 17 March 2015 - 8:45am to 5:00pm
Target Audience General Practice Nurses
Cost A $100 participant fee applies
Venue GP partners Australia, First Floor, 120 Hutt Street Adelaide SA 5000
Presenter Debra Rowett, Kate Pennington, Gill Dowie, Sabine Drilling
For more information go to the events page on the GPPA website or contact us on 8112 1100
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January 2015 - Page 5