Newsletter June 2022

President's Message

Welcome to the mid-year newsletter.

It’s been 12 years since the optometry profession entered the national registration scheme – it’s a good time to reflect on our professional obligations as registered health practitioners. Detailed information on registration standards as well as codes, guidelines and policies can easily be found on the Optometry Board of Australia website.

This edition covers updates on a range of activities in health practitioner regulation.

• Registration Standards Compliance and Audit
• Revised Code of conduct
• Professional conduct on social media
• Mandatory notifications

I would like to thank the reappointed and newly appointed Council Members and the HPCA staff for their hard work and support.

Derek Fails
President, Optometry Council of NSW

Audits – be ready

All registered optometrists are required to comply with the Optometry Board of Australia’s registration standards and declare whether they were compliant when renewing their registration. The Board and Ahpra conduct regular audits to assess practitioners’ compliance with the standards. This provides assurance that the requirements of the National Law are understood and that practitioners are compliant.

Practitioners are selected at random for audit. If you are selected for audit you will be contacted and advised what standards you will be audited against and specifically, what sort of evidence is required to support the declarations you made at renewal.

As a general guide: 

Criminal history registration standard

No further action is required unless you are asked to provide more information. Ahpra uses an independent service provider to check domestic criminal history, which will happen automatically at no cost to you.

Continuing professional development registration standard

You must submit evidence of the CPD activities completed and your reflection on them (e.g., a completed logbook) to meet the requirements of the Board standard relevant to the specified audit period.

Recency of practice registration standard

You must submit evidence of how you met the requirements of the Board's ROP standard relevant to the specified audit period.

Professional indemnity insurance arrangements registration standard

You must submit evidence of PII arrangements which meet the requirements of the Board’s PII registration standard.

Making a false declaration or failing to meet the requirements of a registration standard is grounds for the Board to make a complaint to the Council.

Revised Code of Conduct for Optometrists

Twelve National Boards have jointly published an advance copy of their revised Code of conduct (the code). The Boards and Aphra are encouraging practitioners to familiarise themselves with it before it comes into effect on 29 June 2022.

Practitioners have a professional responsibility to be familiar with it and to apply the code.

The code sets out National Boards’ expectations of professional behaviour and conduct for practitioners registered in these professions, which promotes safe and effective care and helps to keep the public safe.

The shared code sets the same expectations for all 12 professions subject to the code. This consistency supports inter-professional practice and contributes to safety and quality in healthcare.

The public can also use the code to better understand what they can expect from registered health practitioners and if the care they provide meets expected standards.

To read the advance copy of the code please visit the Shared Code of conduct page on the Ahpra website.

Professional conduct on social media?

Social media is an easily accessible public forum which can be open to misinterpretation or used inappropriately.

Health practitioners must be alert to how inappropriate conduct on social media can lead to complaints of unprofessional conduct or professional misconduct.  The NSW Health Professional Councils have recently seen an upturn in the number of complaints about how some practitioners are using social media to express personal views on COVID-19 related issues.

The public nature of social media means a single post is instantly and widely available. Content can quickly be copied and presented to another audience, without the consent of the person who made the original post. Sharing information or even ‘likes’ can be construed as endorsement of inappropriate content.

The pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, mandated vaccinations and testing have contributed to increased social media activity by health practitioners. Complaints about the professional conduct of practitioners have been received by Councils where content has been inconsistent with public health orders, or reputable scientific evidence. Practitioners are also reminded that breach of public health orders is an offence.

The role of Council is to protect public safety. This involves receiving complaints about health practitioners, assessing the complaints in consultation with the HCCC, and managing complaints. Regulatory action taken by Councils may include conducting hearings, placing conditions on practice and, for serious matters, registration may be suspended.

Whether practitioners are commenting in social media about COVID-19 or other matters, there is a professional responsibility to ensure adherence to the National Law, National Board Standards, Guidelines and Code of Conduct.

Any social media activity by health practitioners that is in conflict with these professional responsibilities is likely to be deemed inappropriate.

Examples of inappropriate social media activity that may result in complaints about practitioners and action by Council include:

· Activity that contradicts public health orders, public health information or reputable scientific evidence including:

• Making comments, endorsing or sharing information, posting ‘likes’ or ‘dislikes’ with or without additional comments.
• Being photographed or videoed engaging in activities or events that are in conflict with professional responsibilities.

· Providing health advice on areas outside the scope of the profession or individual professional competencies.

· Commenting on a post made by a patient that could be seen as breaching the patient’s privacy.

· Unprofessional, disrespectful, or threatening communications with or about patients and/or other practitioners, including through closed group social media channels.

Meet your professional responsibilities by:

· Complying with professional obligations as defined in the National Boards’ Code of conduct.

· Complying with confidentiality and privacy requirements.

· Maintaining professional boundaries with patients, colleagues and employers.

· Communicating professionally and respectfully with or about patients, colleagues and employers.

· Ensuring any advertising or information presented is not false, misleading or deceptive.

· Only supporting information that is consistent with public health orders and reputable scientific evidence.

Do you need further details? Find more information on Social media guidelines, the code of conduct for registered practitioners, or your professional obligations under the National Law at these links or on the Ahpra website.

Mandatory notifications

Mandatory notifications help to protect the public by ensuring that Ahpra and the National Board are alerted to any potential risks to the public. By law, registered health practitioners, employers and education providers must make a mandatory notification in some limited circumstances. Understanding when to make a mandatory notification and when not to, is an important way you can help to protect the public and support your colleagues. Click here to find out more.

Tell us what you think

You can send us an email if you have a particular comment or suggestion about this edition or you can have your say via our anonymous survey which is open all year round https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FGWJJDH