Professional development opportunities and events read more

20 medical practices announced as Health Care Homes
Congratulations to the successful applicants in our catchment read more

Grants and tenders open
After hours GP and mental health funding opportunities are open  read more

My Health Record: cheat sheets for uploading Shared Health Summaries
We've made it easier to upload summaries read more

Free spirometry training course for GPs and practice nurses
This interactive course is hosted by SEMPHN and the National Asthma Council Australia read more

GP workshop: drug seekers
RACGP is hosting a workehop for GPs read more

Free interpreting service for GPs and medical specialists
Medical practitioners have priority access read more

Incorporating interpreters into mental health care
Do you want to use an interpreter to talk about mental health with patients? read more

Mental Health Professionals' Network funding extended 
Here are ways to get involved in the MHPN read more

Pneumonia awareness week
Display information in your waiting room read more

Congratulations to the medical practices in South Eastern Melbourne selected by the Federal Department of Health to be Health Care Homes.

The practices, which were named in last week's Federal Budget announcement, are:

• Bay Street Family Medical Centre
• Bluff Road Medical Centre
• Carrum Downs Medical Centre
• Casey Superclinic
• Chandler Road Medical Clinic
• Emerald Medical Centre
• Frankston Healthcare
• Glen Iris Medical Group
• Hallam Family Practice
• Headspace Frankston Youth Health Clinic
• Lakeside Square Medical Centre
• Lynbrook Village Medical Centre
• Mackie Road Clinic
• Mornington Medical Trust
• Peninsula Family General Practice
• Thompson Road Clinic
• Total Care Medical Group
• Inner South Community Health Service - Prahran Clinic
• Hampton Bayside Medical Centre - Mentone Clinic
• First Health Medical Centre - Hampton Park Clinic

The next step is for the successful practices to formalise their participation and enrol eligible patients.

SEMPHN’s dedicated Health Care Homes team will work closely with all the practices involved to offer support and training.

Most practices are anticipated to provide services to patients from 1 December 2017.

Return to top

After hours general practice services in Cardinia, Kingston and Frankston LGAs

SEMPHN is looking for general practices in the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Cardinia, Kingston and Frankston to expand their face-to-face after hours services.

Grants of around $100,000 are available to around 15 general practices to expand their bulk-billed after hours services by a minimum of 12 hours during the ‘sociable’ and ‘unsociable’ after-hours period.  At least two of the additional hours must be on the weekend (after 12 noon Saturday) and services must start from 3 July 2017.

Tenders close 3pm 24 May.

Accessible Psychological Interventions (API) Services

SEMPHN is seeking organisations to deliver an Accessible Psychological Interventions (API) service in one or more Local Government Areas (LGAs) within our catchment:

API are flexible services for consumers with a mental illness who will benefit from individual, family and/or group psychological services from allied health professionals.

API will replace Access To Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS) later this year.

Tenders close 3pm 9 June.

Register your interest and apply for these grants and tenders on SEMPHN's Tenderlink page. Please note, all questions must be asked via the online forum on SEMPHN’s Tenderlink page.

Return to top

We have put together simple 'cheat sheets' for how to upload a Shared Health Summary.

Each sheet is designed to be printed and placed unobtrusively near or on a screen. There are three copies of the sheet per page (so you can print out three in one go).

Below are the direct links to the sheets. They’re also available from the ePIP Notebook in the Training and Support note.

• Best Practice Cheat Sheet
• Genie Cheat Sheet
• Medical Director Cheat Sheet
• Zedmed Cheat Sheet

While we’re on the topic of My Health Record, did you opt out of the ePIP? You can opt in through HPOS:

1. Go to My Programs > PIP
2. Against your clinic name click Update
3. Click Incentive Summary
4. Look for the "eHealth Incentive" row, and in the Actions column click Update.

Don’t forget that you can now use PRODA to log in to HPOS.

Contact the digital health team if you have any questions digitalhealth@semphn.org.au or 8514 4460.

Return to top

SEMPHN and the National Asthma Council Australia are hosting a free spirometry training course.

The course is offered as part of the Asthma Best Practice for Health Professionals Program, which provides comprehensive training in the application, measurement and interpretation of expiratory spirometry in general practice.

The interactive course includes hands-on components to allow participants to apply their new knowledge in a practical setting.

When: Saturday 27 May 9am – 4pm (registration from 8.30)
Where: Ranfurlie Golf Club, Cranbourne
Accreditation: RACGP (Cat 1 activity, 40 points) & ACRRM (30 PRDP points)
Numbers are strictly limited so get in quick!

More information and registration.

Return to top

RACGP is hosting a workshop focusing on pragmatic approaches GPs can use when seeing patients with drug and alcohol-related issues.

Looking at common general practice presentations, the Active Learning Module (ALM) will assist GPs with addressing issues such as stigma, behavioural change, clinical governance and boundary setting.

The interactive workshop will provide sessions in skill development through case discussions, role playing and the sharing of professional knowledge.

Drug seekers journey: From seeking to recovering
Date: Saturday 24 June 2017, 8:00am - 4:00pm
Where: The John Murtagh Centre, RACGP House
Presenter: Dr Paul Grinzi

For registration and further details please contact Karen Maclean on 8699 0539 or karen.maclean@racgp.org.au.

Return to top

General practitioners and approved medical specialists can access the TIS National Free Interpreting Service when delivering Medicare-rebateable services in private practice to anyone with a Medicare card.

Working with professional interpreters is essential to communicate effectively with your patients and be protected from professional risk.

The free interpreting service gives medical practitioners priority access to interpreters over other callers.

TIS National is available 24 hours, every day of the year. To get access to this free service complete the agency registration form.

For more information contact the TIS National Language Policy Liaison team on tis.lpl@border.gov.au or call 1300 575 847.

Return to top

Do you use (or want to use) an interpreter to talk about mental health with your patient?

A new online learning resource is available for service managers to learn how to work effectively with interpreters in transcultural mental health settings.

Develop by the Victorian Transcultural Mental Health (VTMH), the online resources include:

• an overview of roles, policy and accreditation standards
• practice implications for the client, family, practitioner and interpreter
• step-by-step guide through the process of booking an interpreter through to debriefing at the end of a session.

Access the resource here.

Return to top

The Commonwealth Department of Health has extended funding for the Mental Health Professionals’ Network (MHPN) until 30 June 2020.

MHPN promotes interdisciplinary mental health practice to practitioners across Australia to deliver improved services to consumers.

If you're a mental health practitioner, here's how you can get involved:

• Connect with your local network
• Watch and download more than 60 webinars - webinars feature leading experts in their field and cover a wide range of topical mental health issues.

Return to top

Pneumonia Awareness Week is a great opportunity to remind your patients, particularly those in high risk groups, about the seriousness of pneumococcal pneumonia and the steps they can take to protect themselves, such as:

• pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination
• hand and home hygiene
• quitting smoking.

In Australia, the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination is funded under the government’s National Immunisation Program (NIP) for:

• anyone aged 65 and above
• indigenous Australians
• infants under 12 months.

To help raise awareness among your patients and to find out who is at risk, symptoms and prevention visit Lung Foundation Australia’s website. You can download and print resources such as the Know Pneumonia Infographic (see picture at right) for display in your practice.

For more information freecall 1800 654 301.

Return to top

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

25 May	Cabrini GP Lecture Series Term 1 Lecture 2- Common areas of risk in General Practice GPs Malvern Details and registration
27 May	Spirometry Training Course GPs, Practice Nurses Cranbourne Details and registration
27 May	Pathways to Improving Colorectal Cancer Care GPs, Practice Nurses Melbourne Details and registration
29 May	Service Integration Workshop for Victorian AOD Clinicians- Frankston AOD Clinicians Frankston Details and registration
31 May	Dandenong Practice Networks Practice Nurse,Owner/Principal, Practice Manager Dandenong Details and registration
1 June	Cabrini GP Lecture Series Term 2 Lecture 2- HRT. Which oestrogen and progestogen to use? GPs Malvern Details and registration
3 June	Cerebral Aneurysms: When to worry? Which headaches and which patients? GPs Clayton Details and registration
8 June	St Kilda Practice Networks Practice Nurse, Owner/Principal, Practice Manager St Kilda  Details and registration
8 June	Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) Day 1 Allied Health, Case worker, Mental Health Nurse Fitzroy Details and registration
8 June	Cabrini GP Lecture Series Term 2 Lecture 3- Dealing with patients with Rectal bleeding, who needs a scope? GPs Malvern Details and registration
24 June	Drug seekers journey: From seeking to recovering GPs East Melbourne Details and registration

For more information about events contact Stephenie Cook ph: (03) 8514 6609 or events@semphn.org.au

Return to Top