Welcome to Practice Connect, a fortnightly update for practice managers, nurses and practice administration staff on relevant issues, upcoming events and education. Read all stories -
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for General Practices (5th edition), have been released with the announcement stating they have been "developed with purpose of protecting patients from harm by improving the quality and safety of health services. The Standards also support general practices in identifying and addressing any gaps in their systems and processes." The new Standards, Patient Feedback Guide and Resource Guide are now available at the RACGP website.
From the launch date of 31 October 2018, practices can choose whether to seek accreditation under the 4th edition or the 5th edition of the Standards. From 1 November 2018, all practices seeking accreditation, will be assessed against the Standards (5th edition).
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Due to the high morbidity and occasional mortality associated with pertussis in the first few months of life, the National Immunisation Program (NIP) now recommends providing the standard two month old vaccines as early as six weeks (effective July 2014).
Giving a first dose at six weeks of age rather than two months of age is estimated to prevent an additional eight per cent of infant pertussis cases. The next scheduled doses should still be given at four months and six months of age.
The WA Immunisation schedule aligns with this recommendation and can be viewed on the WA Health website.
Please be reminded that it is safe to administer vaccines in the case of a mild illness without fever (T <38.5oC). There are only two absolute contraindications applicable to all vaccines:
The Australian Immunisation Register (AIR) has recently expanded to be a whole of life register, which will include the reporting of immunisations given to high school students from 2018. Until then, practitioners are reminded to ensure all vaccines administered to Year 8 students continue to be reported using the government procured vaccine form and submit this to the Communicable Disease Control Directorate (CDCD) for recording on the WA Health school-based immunisation program (SBIP). Access the form
Further information can be found be visiting the OAIC website.
Australian Prescriber is a free, national, independent, peer-reviewed journal providing critical commentary on drugs and therapeutics for health professionals. The journal is published by NPS MedicineWise, every two months. The journal includes short didactic reviews and facilitated debate about complex, controversial or uncertain therapeutic areas. Australian Prescriber aims to support health professionals to make informed choices when prescribing, by providing independent, reliable and accessible information. Readers can access the full text for free, online at the NPS MedicineWise website. NPS Medicinewise has now launched the Australian Prescriber Podcast. Each episode includes a chat with an author from a recent issue of Australian Prescriber.The latest podcast focuses on the treatment of fibromyalgia, with Dr Richard Kwiatek. Dr David Liew interviews Dr Kwiatek, a rheumatologist from Adelaide, about fibromyalgia and how GPs can help these patients in the community. To subscribe to the Australian Prescriber Podcast, or listen to individual episodes, visit the NPS MedicineWise website