16 April 2024

Exercise is Medicine (EIM) Australia empowers primary healthcare providers to effectively counsel patients about physical activity leading to sustained behaviour change.

The initiative promotes evidence-based screening to easily identify when and how to refer patients to appropriately trained allied health professionals to deliver exercise treatment.

The EIM website provides a range of resources (including free RACGP-accredited training) to support GPs and health professionals incorporate physical activity counselling and education as a part of their routine appointments.

The website also has a helpful search function which enables GPs to search for local exercise physiologists and physiotherapists within their area.

For those interested in the free RACGP accredited training, the following topics are covered:

  • how exercise can be used to prevent and manage patient chronic conditions
  • recognise the importance of graded exercise therapy in relation to patient safety
  • recall key aspects of the Australian Physical Activity guidelines
  • describe behaviour change strategies specific to the adoption of physical activity
  • outline existing physical activity assessment tools in medical software including Medical Director and Best Practice

Find more information by:

22 January 2024

The Allied Health Academy is hosting a webinar for allied health assistants (AHA) on Wednesday, 21 February from 3pm to 4pm which will introduce some of the challenges and benefits of working in paediatric private practice.

The webinar, Five skills needed as a paediatric AHA Working in the NDIS space, is free but registration is essential.

Register for webinar  

07 August 2023

State-wide Referral Criteria (SRC) are clinical decision-support tools which give health professionals the referral criteria they need to refer their patients to public specialist outpatient services across NSW.

SRC helps people who need to see a health professional in a NSW public specialist outpatient service be referred and prioritised in a safe and timely way.

They support patients and the health professionals looking after them to make a referral and assist NSW public specialist outpatient services with screening and triaging these referrals.

Please visit the NSW Health website for more information.

10 May 2023

The strong focus on primary care, with the tripling of the bulk billing incentive and investment in the health workforce to better meet the health needs of the Australians in the 21st century, were among the welcome features of Tuesday’s Federal Budget.

South Western Sydney Primary Health Network (SWSPHN) Acting Chief Executive Officer, Kristen Short, said there was little doubt primary care had been struggling in recent years, with fewer practices in a position to bulk bill, further highlighting the need for strong and ongoing funding commitment for the sector.

“The $3.5 billion committed to bulk billing incentives, $98.2 million for new Medicare rebates for patients who require consultations of longer than 60 minutes and $445.1 million to support team-based care in general practice, are welcome measures to support the revival and protection of a healthcare system which has served us well for decades,” she said.

Other investments of interest to primary care, in particular general practices in South Western Sydney include:

  • $358.5 million for Medicare Urgent Care Clinics
  • $143.9 million for after hours primary care
  • $91.5 million to improve mental health by addressing workforce shortages

Ms Short said SWSPHN had a particular focus on innovative projects like iRAD, the New to General Practice Nursing program and My Care Partners to build capacity and support our general practices in delivering accessible, effective and timely care to our community.

She noted investment in digital health ($951.2 million); increasing the number of nurses in primary care ($10.7 million); and increasing incentives for general practices to employ a range of health professionals to provide team-based primary care ($445.1 million) would support those projects which were already improving the health of our region.

“Primary care is the cornerstone of our healthcare system, and SWSPHN looks forward to continuing to work with and support primary care providers across our region on the projects, services and other activities funded in this budget.

“We particularly welcome the focus in the budget on multidisciplinary team care and voluntary patient enrolment and look forward to seeing how it complements our local medical neighbourhood model of care, My Care Partners, which has been working for the past two years to reduce avoidable hospital admissions and enhance care coordination for people with multiple chronic diseases.”

02 May 2023

The Australian Government says a $2.2 billion package of Strengthening Medicare measures will address immediate challenges in primary care, take pressure off the hospital system and lay the foundations for long-term Medicare reform.

The measures announced on Friday, 28 April aim to deliver on the recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report and will be funded through the Strengthening Medicare Fund.

The measures include:

  • Supporting workforces to work at top of scope, including pharmacists, paramedics
  • Expanding the nursing workforce to improve access to primary care
  • Improving access to and delivery of after-hours primary care
  • Introducing My Medicare to support wrap around care for patients registered with their local GP through new blended payment models
  • Providing flexible funding for multi-disciplinary team-based models to improve quality of care.
  • Investing in digital health to improve health outcomes

The Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said the government was committed to ensuring all Australians, no matter their income or where they lived, could access the healthcare they needed, when and where they needed it.

“The Government is strengthening Medicare for future generations – by addressing current challenges and seizing opportunities to improve the health and aged care system.”

This table provides an overview of the measures announced on Friday.

Further details on the funding of these policies will be provided in next Tuesday’s Federal Budget.

12 January 2023

A webinar recording is now available to provide allied health professionals with information on the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS), how to use an interpreter and how to access the service.

Allied health professionals in private practice, delivering services to patients within Fairfield and Liverpool local government areas, can now access the free TIS.

Visit the Department of Home Affairs website for information on eligibility, how to apply and for frequently asked questions.

 

Watch the webinar
02 September 2022

Liverpool Hospital’s P2 car park (off Campbell Street) will permanently close from 6am on Thursday, 15 September, and will be replaced with the new P2 car park, with access via Burnside Drive.

Learn more

Download the visitor’s map

Public access:

  • Visitors will be required to use the new P2 car park for hospital parking, accessible between 6am to 10pm daily, via Burnside Drive
  • Hospital access from the car park will be via Entrance J, open 24 hours
  • P3 car park remains available for public parking, accessible between 6am to 10pm daily, via Burnside Drive

Learn more about Precinct Updates

09 January 2022

Allied health professionals in private practice, delivering services to patients within Fairfield and Liverpool local government areas, can now access the free Translating and Interpreting Service.

Visit the Department of Home Affairs website for information on eligibility, how to apply and for frequently asked questions.

Australian Government Chief Allied Health Officer, Dr Anne-marie Boxall, held a webinar on 7 December 2022 to provide information on the Translating and Interpreting Service, how to use an interpreter and how to access the service.

Watch the webinar

This article appeared in Practice Pulse on Wednesday, 2 November 2022 and Wednesday, 11 January 2023 (update). If you are a GP, practice nurse or practice manager in South Western Sydney and do not get the weekly Practice Pulse email, speak to your Practice Support Officer.

01 December 2021

New Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items are now available (as of 1 November 2021) to eligible allied health professionals for participating in multidisciplinary case conferences.

There are a number of resources below which may be of use, including a dedicated fact sheet and a recording of a sector webinar.

 

Background

The 2021–22 Budget included $13.7 million to create new MBS items from 1 November 2021 for eligible allied health practitioners participating in multidisciplinary case conferences with medical practitioners. The new items are in response to recommendations to the MBS Review and intended to improve care coordination and deliver better outcomes to patients with complex needs who have multiple care providers.

The new items apply to non-admitted patients under the care of an eligible allied health practitioner for:

  • Chronic disease management under the care of a GP in either community or residential aged care settings
  • Early diagnosis and treatment for children under 13 years with, or suspected of having, a pervasive developmental disorder (including autism) or an eligible disability, under the care of a specialist, consultant physician or GP.

 

Health Minister’s media release

Minister for Health and Aged Care, Greg Hunt, has issued a media release to announce the new items coming online.

 

Sector webinar

On 7 October 2021, the Department of Health hosted a sector webinar to promote the new items. A recording of the event can be accessed from the Department’s website, alongside the presentation slides which were used and responses to Q&A answered out of session.

 

Fact sheet

For more information on the new items, their eligibility and how they can be accessed, there is a dedicated fact sheet on the MBS Online webpage. The fact sheet may also be updated periodically to reflect feedback from the sector. The full item descriptors are also now available on the MBS Online website at www.mbsonline.gov.au. You can also subscribe to future MBS updates by visiting MBS Online and clicking ‘Subscribe’.