EOI to participate in COVID-19 vaccination rollout closes today

Accredited General Practices are invited to express their interest in participating in Phase 1b of the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Vaccine Roll-out from March 2021.

The response form CLOSES today at 11:59pm AWST Monday 1 February 2021.

All responses to the EOI must be submitted via the online EOI response form. A separate EOI must be submitted for each general practice location.

Webinar: COVID Vaccine Rollout Strategy (5 February)

The rollout of COVID vaccines is a significant national and state priority and one that will involve a partnership across the primary health sector. 

Come along to our COVID vaccine seminar to hear more about the rollout strategy, the Expression of Interest (EOI) process for general practices, the role of GPs and hospitals, vaccine distribution and payments. 

As always, we will provide as much information as possible and there will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

When: Friday 5 February 2021 at 12 pm. 
Register here.

Please also keep an eye on our Coronavirus website page, in addition to signing up to our Coronavirus newsletter for Health Professionals.

 This month's Practice Manager Network meeting 

Do you have a curly question about employment or Human Resources (HR) issues? Then join us for an interactive Q&A session with experts in this space.

After a brief discussion about managing doctors and managing staff who are seeing doctors as patients, the experts are happy to answer your questions.

There will be space to ask your questions on areas such as preparing and reviewing staff contracts, position descriptions and performance management

Our two very experienced guest speakers are from Avant: 

• Sonya Black, Special Counsel – Employment
• Angela Mason-Lynch, Risk Advisor. 

Sonya Black advises medical practitioners and medical practices across Australia about a broad range of employment issues. Sonya provides practical and common sense solutions to employment concerns in order to minimise disputes.

Angela Mason-Lynch has extensive experience managing practices of various disciplines and sizes and many of you may know her as a past State and National AAPM President. Angela has a history of commitment to ensuring health care is delivered safely with quality outcomes in a financially viable environment that is a desirable place in which to work.

When: Wednesday, 17 February 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm
Where: Online (Zoom)
Register here. 

GPs, do you need support to address the mental health of your patients?

SEMPHN has partnered with Monash Health to provide general practitioners with free access to secondary consultations with an experienced psychiatrist.

What’s on offer?

You can access a free, 30-minute phone consultation during business hours to discuss your patient’s mental health, for example: diagnostic issues, medication options, developing safety plans and general management. 

The service is applicable to patients of all ages and includes generalist and subspecialist advice, including that related to child, aged persons, LGBTIQ, perinatal and intellectual disability.

This is a non-urgent service, and clinical responsibility for the patient remains with you (the treating GP).

You will not be expected to provide patient identifying information, such as name and date of birth, or substantiating documentation such as discharge summaries.

How can I access this service?

Call SEMPHN’s Access & Referral on 1800 862 363, 8.30 am-4.30 pm weekdays. Faxed referrals will not be accepted. You will be asked to provide information which will be sent to the psychiatrist at Monash Health before the formal consultation.

Read more. 

New maternity eReferral form for Monash Health 

Monash Health and Monash Children’s Specialist
Consulting Clinics can now receive electronic referrals.

The Maternity Team in conjunction with Obstetricians, midwives, GPs and Share Care Committee have recently launched a specialised Maternity eReferral form.

The form will assist in guiding GPs through important information that is required by the hospital to accept and accurately triage pregnant patients.

It has been built to integrate with the Obstetrics module within your clinical software to self populate information such as: Gravida, Parity, Estimated due date & LNMP.

If your practice has the following clinical software installed, you can send electronic referrals now.

• Medical Director – version 3.16 and above
• Best Practice – version 9x and above (Indigo)
• Genie – version 8.8 and above
• Medtech – version 10.4

Please refer to the Monash Health eReferral Website for further information on how to make a
referral.

If you have any difficulties using HealthLink Smartforms, please contact HealthLink Technical
Support on 1800 125 036 or helpdesk@healthlink.net.

GPs, time to upskill! Discover this AOD Treatment Skills Training 

The RACGP Alcohol and Other Drugs (AOD) GP Education Program is a Commonwealth government funded program aiming to upskill GPs to better address drug and alcohol addiction in their local communities.

Treatment Skills Training is for GPs who want to develop their skills to better support patients to contemplate change, minimise harm and enter into appropriate treatment plans.

RACGP members can complete Treatment Skills Training online via interactive workshops (AOD Live) or self-directed e-learning modules. Limited spaces available.

GPs who complete this training receive a $1,200 grant payment. Applications close on 31 July 2021.

For more information on eligibility, grant payments and to apply for Treatment Skills Training, visit the RACGP AOD GP Education Program Website.

Access over 200+ referral/clinical pathways

Have you seen SEMPHN's online care pathways pages?

Available pathways include:

• COVID-19 positive patients pathway
• Clinical and referral pathways that meet the Statewide Referral Criteria (11 specialties including ENT, Gastroenterology, Gynaecology, Neurology and more)
• Optimal Care Pathways covering 13 cancer types
• Sexually Transmitted Infections pathways 
• Alcohol and Other Drugs pathways

All pathways are available as PDFs and do not require a login or password. 

Quick access to pathways: Health professionals are encouraged to Bookmark this page in their browsers, or on their desktop, for quick access. If you need assistance with this, contact your IT professional.

For questions or to provide feedback on any of the pathways, please contact SEMPHN's Provider Support team by emailing providersupport@semphn.org.au.