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Practice Assist now has more than 133 fact sheets and resources available. New and revised resources available this month at www.practiceassist.com.au include:
The 2018 government funded influenza vaccines are now available to order. The following important program information was recently communicated to immunisation service providers via the Communicable Disease Control Directorate (CDCD) and Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
This year there are two new higher-immunogenicity trivalent vaccines (TIVs), Fluad ® and Fluzone ® high dose, that are only registered and government funded for use in adults 65 years and older. They are preferentially recommended for use in this age group over quadrivalent influenza vaccines (QIVs) as they potentially offer greater protection, in particular from influenza A/H3N2 which affects the elderly more commonly and severely.
Recent evidence - available here - suggests that protection against influenza may decrease from 3 to 4 months after vaccination.
The WA Department of Health advises optimal time to vaccinate against influenza in WA is from May to early June. This is to optimise protection when influenza transmission is expected to be highest between July to October based on WA surveillance data.
Vaccinations should be offered throughout the influenza season, as it is never too late to vaccinate while influenza is circulating. For more information on available vaccines in WA, please click here.
Eligibility for Government funded influenza vaccines in WA in 2018 is unchanged from 2017, and all influenza vaccines should be recorded in the Australian Immunisation Register.
The following important information has been circulated by the Communicable Disease Control Directorate via vaccine orders.
Notification (urgent)
Please notify all suspected or confirmed cases immediately to the Communicable Disease Control Directorate (ph 9388 4852 or A/H 9328 0553) or to the local Public Health Unit in regional areas – http://healthywa.wa.gov.au/publichealthunits/
To learn more about how you can integrate My Health Record into your practice flow and work processes, the Australian Digital Health Agency continually offers educational webinars around different topics such as diagnostics reports, pathology, security, privacy and health summaries.
Dates for upcoming webinars can be found on the WAPHA website on the dedicated My Health Record page.
HealthPathways have now published 377 pathways. The most recently published pathways are:
An expert research group from across WA, Australia and New Zealand has developed an online survey to gauge the uptake of HealthPathways (HPW), and the barriers and enablers to its use within Australia and New Zealand.
The study is the first national investigation into the update of HPW and could be vital in determining future policy development and implementation strategies pertaining to HPW.
If you are, or know of, a practicing health professional and would be interested in being a part of the study, please follow the link below to have your say.
https://is.gd/HealthPathwaysSurvey
The Curtin University Human Resource Ethics Office has approved the study. HREC approval number SPH-09-2014-05. For further information please contact Richard Varhol at Richard.Varhol@wapha.org.au
As part of WAPHA’s Integrated Primary Mental Health Care Initiative, the ORS Psychology service has now been incorporated into a broader service offering called the Practitioner Online Referral and Treatment Service (PORTS), which provides a range of treatment options; online, by telephone or face to face depending on patients’ needs.
As of April 2018, ORS Psychology will no longer accept direct referrals. You will be required to use the PORTS referral form. The referral form is available as a template in Best Practice or can be downloaded from HealthPathways here.
Representatives from PORTS are available to visit your practice to explain this service in more detail. To request a visit, please email steppedcare@wapha.org.au or telephone WAPHA on (08) 6272 4900.
For further information please visit http://www.wapha.org.au/ipmhc.
Patients receiving new outpatient appointment letters in doctor led Outpatient Clinics at Royal Perth Hospital and Armadale Health Service will be receiving additional support to help them make the right decisions about their health care.
The Questions to Ask Your Medical Appointment leaflet has been developed and is being distributed from early April until the end of June 2018 as part of Ensuring Essential Health Care, an East Metropolitan Health Service initiative focused on promoting high value healthcare.
The questions are provided to guide patients on what to ask their doctor, supporting patients and doctors to make the right healthcare decisions. The questions are based on the Choosing Wisely Australia campaign that promotes understanding and information that some tests, treatments and procedures provide little benefit.
WAPHA is supporting this initiative as part of our shared aim to ensure people have access to the right care, in the right place at the right time. Posters to display the Choosing Wisely 5 Questions to ask your doctor or health professional are being made available to general practice in the East Metro region during the period that the leaflets are being distributed through RPH and AHS outpatients. Soft copies of the 5 Questions poster are available through Choosing Wisely here.
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) have jointly produced the third edition of the National Guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (The National Guide).
The National Guide is a practical resource intended for all health professionals delivering primary healthcare to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. Its purpose is to provide health professionals with an accessible, user friendly guide to best practice in preventive healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
This edition:
For further information, to download the National Guide or other supporting documentation, please visit here.
Visit our Webinars & Workshops page at www.practiceassist.com.au for more events in your area.
The Emergency Response Planning Tool (ERPT) is a cloud-based tool which assists general practices to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from, the impacts of emergencies and pandemics. The RACGP Standards for general practices (5th edition) require practices to have a contingency plan for adverse and unexpected events such as natural disasters, pandemic diseases or the sudden, unexpected absence of clinical staff (Criterion C3.3). The ERPT is one way that general practices can meet this Criterion.
The ERPT guides practices through a series of planning templates where critical information about the practice is entered and saved. The critical information entered in the ERPT is used to create an emergency response plan which is individually tailored to the practice, providing a roadmap to recovering from emergencies.
The ERPT is managed by Healthpoint ANZ and was developed in collaboration with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
How much does it cost?
The WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) is funding a limited number of licenses for the first-year subscription of the ERPT. Licenses will be available on a first come, first served basis.
This offer will save general practices in WA $300 plus GST.
How do I access the tool?
Register your practice by accessing the following link https://erpt.racgp.org.au/ and complete the registration details.
For more information, see our fact sheet on the ERPT https://goo.gl/yqtF5N, contact your Primary Health Liaison or Practice Assist on 1800 2 ASSIST (1800 2 277 478) or email support@practiceassist.com.au.
Presented by a local accredited exercise physiologist, this interactive two-hour workshop details the role of physical activity in the prevention and management of chronic disease by treating physical activity as a vital sign. The suite of resources made available to participant s will support them in their assessment, management and referral of patients with and at risk of chronic disease. For more information, see flyer here.
Date: Tuesday, 1 May 2018 Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm Venue: Conference Room 2, Department of Primary Industries & Regional Development, 75 York Road, Northam Cost: Free Register: To register, please visit the following website
The Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) is hosting this free 2-day workshop. Nurses play a crucial role in ensuring improved health outcomes for people with Hepatitis C, through informed clinical management and support of individuals and families. This 2-day face-to-face course is designed to provide nurses with advanced practical skills and knowledge in hepatitis C nursing. For more information, see flyer here.
Date: Friday, 11 May – Saturday, 12 May 2018 Time: Day 1, 8.30am – 5.00pm / Day 2, 8.30am – 3.00pm Venue: Fraser Suites, 10 Adelaide Terrace, East Perth 6004 Cost: Free Register: To register, please visit the following website
This course is designed for registered and enrolled nurses from all health sectors, who are engaged in providing wound care to patients or residents. This is an in-depth review of pathophysiology, pharmacology, assessment strategies, clinical aetiologies, and interventions. This face-to-face course is conducted over two days and is equivalent to 14 CPD hours.
Date: Monday, 21 May – Tuesday, 22 May 2018 Time: 8.45am – 5.00pm Venue: Bethesda Health Care, 25 Queenslea Drive, Claremont 6010 Cost: $387 for CAN members; $430 for non-members Register: To register, please visit the following website
Presented by Rockingham Peel Group and Rockingham General Hospital in partnership with WA Primary Health Alliance and HealthPathways WA. Topics include Older Adult Liaison Nurse Service, Managing Chronic Psychosis in the Community, Gynaecology and more. This activity has 40 Category One QI&CPD points. For more information, see flyer here.
Date: Saturday, 26 May 2018 Time: 8.30am – 3.30pm (8.00am – Registrations) Venue: Rockingham General Hospital, Education Centre Lecture Theatre, Elanora Drive, Coolangup WA 6168 Cost: Free Register: To register, please visit the following website
Are you in the first few months of first few years of working in general practice, or looking for a refresher on best practice in that setting? The ever-popular Foundations of General Practice Nursing Workshop is for you. With an engaging program that covers seven essential topics (such as Immunisation, Infection prevention and control, Wound management and more), our speakers are eager to educate you, and answer all your questions.
Date: Friday, 8 June – Saturday, 9 June 2018 Time: 8.45am – 5.00pm (8.30am – Registrations) Venue: Cliftons Perth, Parmelia House – 191 St Georges Terrace, Perth 6000 Cost: $350 for APNA members; $450 for non-members Register: To register, please visit the following website
St John of God Raphael Services WA is hosting a free one-day conference for health providers working in alcohol and other drugs (AoD) and perinatal infant mental health (PIMH). The comprehensive program will explore how to talk to pregnant women about alcohol use, a father’s role in alcohol exposure during pregnancy, supporting parents challenged by alcohol and substance use, the impact of domestic violence on parenting and attachment and an Australian fetal alcohol spectrum disorder hub.
Date: Wednesday, 13 June 2018 Time: 9.00am – approx. 4.30pm (8.30am – Registrations) Venue: The Auditorium, Bendat Parent and Community Centre, 36 Dodd Street, Wembley 6014 Cost: Free Register: To register, please visit the following website
This course by the Australian College of Nursing is designed for registered and enrolled nurses whose patients have, or are at risk of, blood borne viruses (BBVs) and sexually transmissible infections (STIs). It will provide nurses with the introductory practice skills and knowledge to incorporate sexual health screening and management into their current area of specialty.
Date: Friday, 22 June – Saturday, 23 June 2018 Time: 8.50am – 4.30pm (8.30am – Registrations) Venue: Fraser Suites Perth, 10 Adelaide Terrace, Perth 6000 Cost: Free for WA nurses; $400 for ASHM members; $440 for non-ASHM members Register: To register, please visit the following website
Is your practice looking for a health promotion activity for your practice? Each edition we provide a list of upcoming health promotion activities for the coming months along with resources and contact details.
You can also view all health promotion activities for the year by visiting Practice Assist’s health calendar.
Heart Week 2018 Sunday, 29 April to Sunday, 6 May is an opportunity to engage with the community and health professionals in a new way about physical activity.
This year, the Heart Foundation’s campaign ‘Don’t get the sits’ shines a light on our inactive nation to empower Australians to get moving.
FACTS: We know that more than half of Australians (52 per cent) are not active enough, that almost two in three Australian adults are overweight or obese, and shockingly, one in four children are overweight or obese.
It is our responsibility to encourage Australians to consider their physical activity levels and the impact it has on their hearts.
Physical activity provides medicine for both the mind and the body. Being active everyday can:
Downloadable resources include a GP exercise prescription pad and posters available at: https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/campagins/heartweek or contact us on 9388 3343. We also have Heart Foundation walking groups and a phone application: https://walking.heartfoundation.org.au/
Diabetes WA provide a range of group education sessions for patients living with Type Two diabetes, throughout regional Western Australia and metropolitan Perth.
The SMART programs are a range of short group education sessions designed to help better manage patient’s Type 2 diabetes. Bookings are essential, and attendance at all of the SMART programs is free for NDSS Registrants and Diabetes WA members.
The group education calendar can be found at https://diabeteswa.com.au/get-involved/news-and-events/whats-on/
Bookings can be made on line into programs using the interactive calendar, or by contacting Diabetes WA on telephone 1300 001 880.