Issue 216 - 20 March 2025
Welcome to Practice Connect, a fortnightly update for practice managers, principals, nurses and administration staff on relevant issues, upcoming events and education.
-
Services Australia have advised that some practices have missing or expired accreditation information within their Organisation Register in HPOS.
Current accreditation details are required to ensure your practices MyMedicare eligibility and incentive payments are not impacted.
Lapse in MyMedicare eligibility will impact on your practice’s ability to claim and your patients’ ability to access MyMedicare only Medicare Benefits Schedule items and incentives linked to MyMedicare registrations for patients.
For further information or assistance please contact Services Australia by phone on 132 150 and selecting Option 2.
In March 2022, the WA Government appointed WA Police to undertake a significant overhaul of firearms laws in WA. The new legislation commencing 31 March introduces more stringent requirements aimed at enhancing and supporting public safety.
This includes the introduction of mandatory Fire Arms Authority Health Assessment (FAHA), undertaken by a medical practitioner (GP) for all new Firearm Licence applicants, and existing licence holders, repeated at least every five years (annually for those aged 80 years of age and older).
To manage demand on general practice, notification of FAHAs for existing firearm authority holders will be staggered over the next first five years.
See the Information Sheet for Health Practitioners and FAHA Guidance notes for more information.
RACGP WA is hosting a webinar Wednesday 26 March to provide an overview of the new legislation and reforms and practical considerations for GPs providing mandatory FAHAs. Find out more and register.
The Albanese Labor Government is delivering even more choice for Australian women with new and amended listings for contraception, endometriosis and IVF on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Drospirenone (Slinda®), which will be listed on the PBS on May 1 for the first time as a new contraceptive option. Slinda is a progestogen-only-pill and may be used by women who cannot take contraceptives with estrogens. Over 100,000 Australian women are expected to benefit from this listing each year, who without subsidy, might pay more than $250 for a year of treatment. Roughly one in seven Australian women suffer from endometriosis. They'll now have access to a new medicine with Relugolix with estradiol and with norethisterone (Ryeqo®) to be listed on the PBS on May 1. Ryeqo is a new endometriosis treatment option for patients who have experienced moderate to severe pain and cannot get adequate relief from other hormonal treatments and painkillers.
View the full media release here.
The WA Department of Health has advised the scheduled mandate of the Immunology referral access criteria and Respiratory and Sleep Medicine referral access criteria (RAC) will no longer go ahead as planned in March 2025. This decision aims to alleviate the pressure on the Central Referral Service (CRS), currently undertaking actions to improve the current referral backlog that is already causing significant referral processing delays.
The RAC Project team will liaise with the CRS Operations team in July 2025 to review CRS capacity to mandate both RAC in September 2025.
WA Health will be communicating with referrers to promote awareness of the Immunology RAC and Respiratory and Sleep Medicine RAC and they will remain available on WA Health website to provide guidance to referrers.
National Advance Care Planning (ACP) Week is celebrated 17-23 March 2025. This year’s theme is - Make your choices matter. ACP is a voluntary process of planning for future health and care where your values, beliefs and preferences can be documented to guide decision making at a future time when you cannot make or communicate decisions. In Western Australia, ACP can be completed by anyone over 18 years of age. It can involve documenting wishes about future health care in writing. This includes completing documents such as:
To learn more about advance care planning contact Practice Assist on 1800 2 ASSIST (1800 2 277 478 or 08 6278 7900) or via email practiceassist@wapha.org.au to connect with the Greater Choices for At Home Palliative Care team.
Did you know Clinician Assist offers population specific guidance? Clinician Assist WA helps GPs and other health professionals navigate their patients through the complex primary, community and tertiary health care systems. Clinical and referral guidance is succinct and easily used during a consultation. Content is evidence-based and summarises locally relevant and agreed-upon assessment, management, and referral advice on key patient presentations. Where content specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and/or people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities is included within a pathway, these icons will be displayed in the top left of the page.
As you navigate through the pathway, these icons will indicate where population specific guidance is available. Population specific patient resources vetted by our GP team are also included in the information section at the bottom of clinical pathways where available. If you are a health professional and would like to register for or access the Clinician Assist WA website, please visit clinicianassistwa.org.au
The Department of Health and Aged Care would like to advise immunisation providers that delivery of Sanofi’s VaxiGrip Tetra® vaccine for the 2025 influenza season is expected to arrive in early April. In the interim, and to ensure early access to flu vaccines for all eligible cohorts, a quantity of Sanofi’s FluQuadri® vaccine has been made available for immunisation providers to use to vaccinate NIP eligible children under 5 years until the stock of VaxiGrip Tetra® is distributed. Please note that due to the late addition of the FluQuadri® vaccine, packaging will not be labelled with “Government Funded Program – 2025” as with other NIP influenza vaccines. With this in mind, the Department of Health and Aged Care strongly recommend that immunisation providers make sure this stock is identified and only used and recorded as a NIP funded vaccination for children under 5 years. Updated 2025 NIP influenza vaccination program advice for health professionals and resources are available on the department’s website. Refer to the Australian Immunisation Handbook Influenza (flu) chapter for clinical advice, and subscribe to receive the latest NIP updates. WA Department of Health will have FluQuadri® available to order via Onelink once it arrives into our warehouse.
Resources and advice for vaccination providers regarding the National 2025 influenza season is now available and includes:
Further advice and resources will become available on the Department of Health and Aged Care’s website in advance of the program rollout in April. Health care providers can receive the latest National Immunisation Program updates by subscribing to the Department of Health and Aged Care email list. Please note that this information is regarding the National program. The WA Influenza Immunisation Program will be released soon to complement the national program.
The Communicable Disease Control Directorate (CDCD) Immunisation Program is hosting the annual influenza update for 2025. The session will provide an overview of the Influenza virus and program details, including reporting and recording requirements. To get tickets or register for the online session, click here.
Healthcare Professionals have an important role in prompting patients to consider the benefits of influenza vaccination. This webinar, hosted by Immunisation Coalition, will cover symptoms and complications (particularly for at-risk patients), epidemiology, NIP eligibility, recent pharmacy-specific reimbursement, vaccine options, efficacy and safety. This event is not accredited with the RACGP, and a certificate of attendance will be issued to participants of the live webinar. For more information and to register, please click here.
The WA Department of Health (WA) has sent an important email on Thursday 7 November, to Onelink account holders to communicate about the 2025 Influenza Program. This has been sent to the contact email on file with the Department. If you did not receive the letter, please email vaccineorders@health.wa.gov.au Co-administering the COVID-19 and flu vaccines can offer logistical benefits, reduce costs, and potentially boost vaccine uptake.
Step 1: Update your webpage information to reflect current COVID-19 & influenza vaccination advice, along with your clinic details. Step 2: Update your online booking platform.
RSV is a highly infectious virus that is the most common cause of respiratory infections in children, with almost all children being infected at least once in their first 2 years of life. Following the successful implementation of the 2024 Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infant Immunisation Program, WA Health will offer a 2025 WA RSV Infant and Maternal Immunisation Program to continue protecting infants from severe RSV disease. Option A – Abrysvo: From February 2025, pregnant women have been able to receive Abrysvo vaccine for free under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) between 28-36 weeks of pregnancy. Option B - Beyfortus® (Nirsevimab): From 1 April to 30 September 2025, some infants will be eligible to receive a dose of Beyfortus® under the state-funded infant RSV immunisation program, under the following eligibility cohorts:
Information on the 2025 WA RSV Infant and Maternal Immunisation Program, as well as more information regarding eligibility is available here. Providers can view the WA Health 2025 WA Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Infant and Maternal Immunisation Program webpage for provider information. Please see here for Commonwealth resources and information regarding the Abrysvo vaccine for eligible pregnant women.
The WA Cervical Cancer Prevention Program (WACCPP) are thrilled to announce that they have expanded their suite of translated resources, now available online. The team has worked diligently to identify and address language gaps in Western Australia, ensuring that cervical screening information is more accessible. The latest additions include resources in over 12 languages including Vietnamese, Burmese, Dari, and Indonesian. Visit the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) website to access these valuable resources and help spread the word within your communities. If you are holding an event or need to refresh your brochure stand, WACCPP also have other resources that are free of charge and available to order online, including posters, bookmarks, brochures and resources cards. They also have banners and anatomical models available for loan! To order resources, click here. To request loans of a banner or anatomical model, click here.
Did you know that patients aged 45 or older should do the free National Bowel Cancer Screening Program test? The National Bowel Screening Program automatically mail the test to people aged 50 to 74, but people aged 45 to 49 need to request their first free kit — and practices can easily help them do it. Updated clinical guidance recommends people begin bowel screening at the age of 45. With age being the biggest risk factor, even fit and healthy people should screen. Encourage all patients aged 45 to 74 to screen for bowel cancer by:
These pouches are designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to discretely carry their CST swab while at the clinic. The pouch can provide extra privacy while taking the CST into a toilet or private area within the clinic when self-collecting their sample and then returning it to their healthcare provider. This pouch can then be taken home after their test as a gift! You can order these FREE pouches for your clinic here Let's Own It! Pouch Order Survey.
Cancer Council WA, through the Clear the Air program, is hosting a series of professional development events to empower professionals working with young people in youth, community, and health services with the tools they need to have confident conversations with patients who vape and support them on their quitting journey. The events will focus particularly on supporting young people but are relevant for supporting anyone to quit vaping. Through evidence-based insights, practical and hands-on training in delivering brief advice, and tailored support techniques, they are hopeful that attendees will gain the confidence and skills to provide quit vaping support. Each event will be tailored to meet the specific needs of each audience group. In-person and online sessions are available.
James McLennan, an experienced psychologist and smoking and vaping cessation subject matter expert
Find out more and register via this link.
Last year, the Australian Government provided Primary Health Networks with funding to support and coordinate local solutions that enable the delivery of COVID-19 vaccinations to vulnerable populations who cannot access or have difficulty accessing the vaccine through existing mechanisms. WA Primary Health Alliance developed the COVID-19 Primary Care Vaccination Program aimed to support primary care vaccine administrators in providing equitable access to COVID-19 vaccinations for all Western Australians using targeted activities such as pop-up clinics and home visits, with a focus on the vulnerable community members in their region including all residential aged care homes (RACHs).
Please check out more information about the program’s achievement here.
WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) invites general practice staff to attend one of the launch sessions for the new practice data reports through the Primary Care Reporting Portal (PCRP).
To find out more about the PCRP launch sessions, click here to register. Please note: The practice data reports and the PCRP are currently only available to general practices sharing data with WAPHA through Primary Sense.
Presented by WA Primary Health Alliance 3 April 2025 (6pm to 7pm AWST) Telehealth in emergency and disaster situations involves using telecommunication technologies to provide health care services when traditional face-to-face consultations are not possible. WA Primary Health Alliance’s General Practice Emergency Response Team identified the need to increase general practice confidence in the use of telehealth and the application of telehealth in disasters and emergencies. Join us for this webinar to explore the following topics:
This webinar is accredited for 1 RACGP EA CPD hour. To find out more view the flyer here and register today.
The 2025 winter season is fast approaching. Join us for this webinar to learn about the new immunisation schedules and which vaccines will be available for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza, pneumococcal and COVID-19. GPs and vaccine service providers play a crucial role in ordering and administering vaccines, educating patients and ensuring coverage across all age groups. This webinar will cover the following topics:
Currently, almost 1 in 4 children are overweight or obese and those with complex medical comorbidities are often referred to the Perth Children’s Hospital - Healthy Weight Service (PCH-HWS). Regional referrals to the PCH-HWS represent 25% of all referrals and waitlists for this service are long and increasing. To better address childhood obesity in regional areas, a shared model of care for managing children living in regional WA with high Body Mass Index (BMI) has been developed. The key principles of the service delivery model include:
The model will be rolled out in WA Country Health Service (WACHS) regions, using a phased approach throughout 2025. WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) and WA Country Health Service (WACHS) are hosting an information session for General Practitioners (GPs) to learn about the important role they can play in supporting children within the shared care model and hear from clinical and public health experts in the field, including Perth Children’s Hospital – Healthy Weight Service. If you are a GP interested in the shared care model for managing children with overweight or obesity in regional WA, please register your interest. Registration is capped by region for equitable access and places are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis Complete an Expression of Interest here in attending this event. Successful applicants will be notified and provided with link to event. Remuneration provided in accordance with WAPHA’s Paid Particiption Policy.
To help improve health outcomes for Aboriginal people, WA Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA) is offering free online Aboriginal cultural diversity training for all general practice staff. The free online training is the SBS Inclusion Program (First Nations) that includes short learning modules, which take approximately an hour to complete in total, with the following learning outcomes:
Clinician Assist WA is a secure website providing GPs and other health professionals with guidance for assessing, managing and referring patients across Western Australia. It has replaced HealthPathways WA, offering the same trusted local guidance, features and functionality and remains available at no cost. The Clinician Assist WA team will run online demonstrations facilitated by a GP Clinical Editor throughout 2025 to support users. These sessions will demonstrate how to maximise integration of Clinician Assist WA into your clinical practice. Learn key functionalities of the website and how to access condition specific tools and resources, Referral Access Criteria (RAC) (where available), GPbook Specialist Directory and visiting specialist rosters. Sessions have been approved for 1 CPD Educational Hour with RACGP and will be held online on the following dates:
Demonstrations are open to general practitioners, general practice staff and other health professionals registered to practice in WA.
Acknowledgement WA Primary Health Alliance acknowledges and pays respect to the Traditional Owners and Elders of this country and recognises the significant importance of their cultural heritage, values and beliefs and how these contribute to the positive health and wellbeing of the whole community.