SSWAHS = SWSLHD + SLHD and the Medicare Locals - 69

If ever we needed to see what the agenda of the College of GPs (and some of the existing Board members of the Divisions of General Practice) has been in their submissions for ownership of the Medicare Locals, this Media Release spells it out emphatically - "We intend to maintain control because none other than a medical practitioner can do the job of running the Medicare Local".

Local allied health practitioners and community members with health and/or business acumen should be champing at the bit to ensure that they can rein in the entrepreneurial plans of this Juggernaut.  

The only way to provide the diverse, effective and efficient community based health services to the Southern Highlands is for the community members delivering and receiving those services to have equality in the decision making of their Medicare Local. Only then will the Vision of the Bankstown Health Coalition be able to be replicated in the Southern Highlands.

7 November 2011
 
Medicare Locals – GPs must retain a strong leadership role

To avoid fragmentation of patient healthcare, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) urges the Government to consult closely with the medical profession as it progresses the establishment of Medicare Locals.

On Friday, the Minister for Health and Ageing released a list of 38 organisations that have been selected to become the next Medicare Locals.

RACGP President Professor Claire Jackson said that Medicare Locals will have a broader focus than their predecessor Divisions of General Practice, and whilst this should provide a greater opportunity for integrated team based care, it is essential that GPs retain strong leadership roles, and that the general practice is seen as the patient's community healthcare home.

“Quality general practice is the foundation of primary care and must be the basis of Medicare Locals. Our focus needs to remain on enhancement of services to the patient and the community taking care to avoid fragmentation,” she said.

The College is pleased that Minister Roxon acknowledged the importance of ‘GPs and general practice being at the centre of a strong, integrated primary healthcare system’ and the need to ‘build on the excellent work already done by the local Divisions of General Practice’.

“The RACGP believes it is important we remain included in the discussions around the development of each of these organisations and we urge members to remain involved so that general practice continues to be the cornerstone of reform.

“It is likely that the governance of a Medicare Local will be through a skills based board rather than representative based board. GPs with such skills are encouraged to apply and have a voice,” Professor Jackson concluded.
– ends

SWSLHD and Bowral's Health - 51

Government "committed" to mental health cuts

• By Gemma Collins on  3 November 2011 6Minutes

Doctors have pledged to continue their fight against cuts to mental health services as the government said today it was still “committed” to its original Budget plans.  

Following the release of the long-awaited Senate report into mental health services (link) President of the RACGP Professor Claire Jackson said it had “opened the door to ongoing constructive discussion” with the government. 

But her assurance came as Minister for Mental Health Mark Butler said the government would be considering the enquiry’s recommendations but was “committed to the measures in our budget”.

“We’ll consider the recommendations of the enquiry, just like we would with any other Senate enquiry,” a spokesperson told 6minutes.  

“However, we're committed to the measures in our budget which together deliver the single largest investment in new mental health measures in Australian history.”

The report released on Tuesday recommended that the cuts to the Better Access scheme, which will see GP mental health services slashed by nearly half, be delayed until there is an “adequately equipped” alternative program for patients.

“Overall, the final Senate report leaves much open for interpretation due to its failure to provide clear recommendations,” Professor Jackson said. 

“It is the opinion of the College that a strong case has been made to justify greater reward and recognition in relation to providing mental healthcare plans – an issue the College will continue to fiercely advocate for”.

She said she would be urging the government to take on the recommendation “to revise its scheduling for the 2011-12 Federal Budget changes to ensure continuity of care”, in order “to allow for a final consensus to be formed, agreeable to the vast majority of health professionals desiring the best mental health outcomes for their patients and communities.”

SWSLHD and Bowral's Health - 35

Four fixes needed for PCEHR

• By Michael Woodhead on  20 October 2011 - 6Minutes

The success of the PCEHR is threatened by the lack of GP input into the program and lack of a Medicare rebate to recognise the extra workload it will create for GPs, the RACGP says.

In a statement released this week,  the College says  the lack of clinical input into the design and implementation of an electronic record system was one of the key reasons for the demise of the UK’s e-health program.

It says the Department of Health and Ageing, NEHTA and the RACGP need to reach agreement on critical issues “such as data quality and ownership within the PCEHR, the PCEHR’s links with clinical software, and possible impact on clinical and practice workflows which will be a disincentive to widespread adoption. “

RACGP president Professor Claire Jackson says the College is also concerned about the lack of any incentives  for general practice for additional tasks such as creating PCEHR documents and obtaining informed consent.

The College has also highlighted two other critical areas of the PCEHR that need attention, citing the need to get patient s from high risk groups to “opt in” and the clinical and medicolegal risks of allowing  patients to alter their clinical record.

A program is needed to encourage PCEHR uptake by the groups that will most likely to benefit, namely patients with chronic and complex conditions, older Australians, Aboriginal people and mothers with new-born children, it says.