GP consultation underway in the New England

In July 2016, the NEDGP took a new and exciting step in taking on the role of education delivery for its members and developing a sustainable education program by contracting Panacea Health Services to deliver this program.

To begin this process consultant at Panacea Health services Kyra Moss has been meeting with members one on one and in groups to facilitate meaningful conversations around GP needs and expectations for education and membership of the organisation.

“The needs analysis is an important process that helps to inform education planning but also seeks to re-engage members in a larger conversation about how they engage with the program”.

All members will be offered this face to face consultation and input but are also able to provide feedback autonomously by contacting Kyra on 0432347526 or kyra@panaceahealthservices.com.au

So far the consultation process has been received very positively by the members, “we believe this is an illustration of the value of NEDGP as an organisation. Their recent move to take on education delivery is very well received”, Kyra said.

New app for innovative education delivery in the New England

GPs anNEDGP BizBagd Primary Healthcare providers in the New England are now able to access their education easily through a new Bizbag application that is the source for all education information, registration and learning resources.

The app which is currently under development has been invested in by the NEDGP to better manage education delivery to their members.

The NEDGP has recently contracted Panacea Health Services to facilitate the education program including the back end work of app customization and program delivery.

Panacea Consultant Jo McRae says, “the app will make the delivery of the program cost and time efficient for the NEDGP”, it works for iOS, Andriod and off desktops to make the information more readily available”.

“It will allow anyone interested in the NEDGP education program to download the free app from the App store, Google play or from the NEDGP website”.

Access through the app provides members with event registration, news push notifications, education resources and payment ability.

Download this app through iTunes or Google Play for Android. The app can also be accessed on the NEDGP website at www.nedgp.org.au

 

Panacea Health Services: delivering education in the New England

Panacea Health services have recently secured a contract with the New England Division of General Practice (NEDGP)  to undertake a new strategic approach to managing and delivering education for its members in the New England area.

Panacea Health services are excited to work with the New England Division of General Practice to build a sustainable business model for education delivery in this area and support the organization to maintain autonomy in this key support service for members.

Both partners at Panacea have had a history of over 10 years working with the NEDGP in previous roles and are looking forward to working with  all members and stakeholders in the area to grow the program in response to the changing needs and challenges in rural practice.

Rural incentives for GPs: 2015 Budget Measures

With the hand down of the 2015 budget, there have been some adjustments to the Rural Doctors Incentives – there will be changes to the calculation of bonus payments for rural doctors to ensure they are better targeted. This will focus these incentives on those working in rural and remote communities rather than outer metro or large regional areas. to see more about these budget measures read here.

Want to know more about how you can take advantage of the incentives and make the move to rural areas, contact us to discuss how we can help make it happen.

Market your specialist practice: go electronic for GPs

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is urging federal and state government departments to ensure that the medical forms they need to determine patient entitlements are provided in electronic format and are accessible from within their practice software.
Specialists will need to ensure that they are ready to take the same approach in a competitive market for referrals. Read more

AMA warns of risk of further workforce shortage if action not taken immediately

AMA Vice President, Dr Stephen Parnis,says that the AMA is concerned that medical workforce planning in Australia has stalled since the abolition of Health Workforce Australia in the May Budget.

Dr Parnis said that effective and coordinated medical workforce planning is essential to ensure we have a highly skilled medical workforce in the right numbers and in the right places to meet the future health needs of the Australian community.

“We are currently experiencing ongoing medical workforce shortages in a number of specialties, as well as in regional and rural Australia,” Dr Parnis said.

read more

Changes to Co-payment measures

The original co-payment measure announced in the 2014-15 Budget will no longer proceed. The Government will implement a new optional co-payment, with additional protections for patients.

  • $5 Medicare rebate cut for general patients
  • Indexation freeze on Medicare Benefits Schedule for GP, specialist, allied health, optometrist and other services extended to July 2018
  • From 19 January 2015, Level B consultation must last at least 10 minutes
  • Rebates for consultations lasting less than 10 minutes slashed to $11.95
  • Doctors will be allowed to collect fee of up to $5 from general patients
  • No rebate cut for children younger than 16 years, veterans, aged care facility residents, pathology and diagnostic imaging services, and bulk billing incentives for these patients will remain

for more information on these changes and changes to the MBS schedule click here

Online eligibility checks now available in ECLIPSE

An online eligibility check lets you check the eligibility of a patient with the Department of Human Services or private health insurers, and to estimate out of pocket expenses for in-hospital care. The patient can then provide informed financial consent.

Before carrying out a patient eligibility check, you must obtain consent from the patient or their legally authorised representative. The way the patient consent is obtained will depend on legislative requirements and your software product.

There are 3 types of online eligibility checks available in ECLIPSE:

  • Hospital only checks(ECF) determines whether the patient is eligible for a selected presenting illness or condition on the admission date. It provides the out of pocket expenses for excess, exclusions and co-payments associated with the patient’s hospital product. This check is used by hospitals and day surgeries
  • Medicare only checks (ECM) determines whether the patient is covered by Medicare, and what benefits are payable for in-patient medical services. This check is used by hospitals, day surgeries and health professionals
  • Hospital and medical checks at both Medicare and the private health insurers(OEC) determines whether the patient is eligible for a presenting illness or condition on the admission date. It provides the out of pocket expenses for excess, exclusions and co-payments associated with the patient’s hospital product, and the Medicare and the private health insurer benefits payable for the medical services. This check is used by hospitals, day surgeries and health professionals

Source: Medicare Australia

Telstra makes bid for integrated health care

Specialists may now be receiving referrals from Telstra if they are successful in their $100 million bid to be a major player in Australia’s burgeoning e-health industry with the launch of their new business unit, Telstra Health, says the Herald Sun.

This is a joint venture with Swiss company Medgate to offer over-the-phone access to general practitioners, read more