Pharmacy management software Minfos has rolled out Active Script List (ASL), now available to all Minfos customers.

An ASL enables patients to manage their active prescriptions electronically, including repeats, ready to be dispensed without the use of tokens.

As a result, patients can quickly and easily access their active prescriptions at any pharmacy by providing consent to the pharmacy to access their ASL and dispense their medicines.

Patients have control of who can access their ASL and can give temporary or on going access to dispensers.

To learn how to register a patient for ASL in Minfos, watch the video resources by clicking here.

From 14 March 2022, healthcare provider organisations will require a NASH SHA-2 Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Certificate compatible software for digital health services such as My Health Record, Secure Messaging, Electronic prescriptions, and Healthcare Identifier Services.

Currently, NASH Certificates are issued as NASH-SHA-1 Certificates, but SHA-1 Certificates will no longer be issued after 13 March 2022.

From 14 March 2022:

• all certificates that are issued will be NASH-SHA-2 and practices will require SHA-2 compatible software
• Medicare Site Certificates will no longer be issued. All users of Medicare Online, Electronic Claim Lodgement and Information Processing Service Environment (ECLIPSE), PBS online, and Aged Care online must use web services compatible software.
   

NASH certificates renewed after 16 May 2021 will have two years until they expire, so practices can use these certificates until their expiry dates.

From 20 September 2021, providers may request either SHA-1 or SHA-2 Certificates, depending on their software. All certificates issued from 14 March 2022 will be SHA-2 certificates.

From 20 September 2021, NASH-SHA-2 Certificates will be available to request and for download in Healthcare Provider Online Services (HPOS). In anticipation of the transition, healthcare provider organisations are encouraged to review any notices from their software provider regarding NASH-SHA-2 readiness.

If you are renewing your existing NASH Certificates after 20 September 2021, you will receive either a SHA-1 or SHA-2 Certificate based on whether your software version is SHA-2 ready.

When renewing the NASH certificate via HPOS after 20 September 2021, select the software product from the drop-down list. If your software is listed there, you can request NASH-SHA-2 certificates provided your software version isn’t older than the version listed there.

If your software version is older, update your software to the latest version before requesting a NASH-SHA2 certificate.

If your software is not listed in the drop-down menu, this indicates the software product is not yet SHA-2 ready. Proceed with renewing the existing SHA-1 certificate before it expires in HPOS. To do this, select ‘I cannot select a product because: My product is not available’ in the list, and HPOS will automatically allocate a SHA-1 certificate.

For more information, visit digitalhealth.gov.au

You can check the expiry date of a NASH certificate, request, renew, and download an updated version in HPOS. To do this:

• your Organisation Maintenance Officer (OMO) needs to login into PRODA – HPOS
• go to services ‘My Programs’
• click on Healthcare Identifiers and click on the ‘My Health Record’ tab
• select Healthcare Identifiers, then Manage existing records
• select your Organisation – My Organisation Details
• click on the Certificates tab.

Supported by Northern Queensland Primary Health Network (NQPHN), vaccination teams from in-reach Commonwealth Government vaccination workforce Healthcare Australia (HCA) visited residential aged care facilities across North Queensland to provide staff with their COVID-19 vaccines.

The Australian Government has mandated that from today (17 September 2021) residential aged care workers must be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of their employment.

This week, 13 HCA teams consisting of 39 HCA staff and nurses visited aged care facilities in Cairns, Townsville, Ingham, Bowen, the Tablelands, Hopevale, and in the Torres Strait.

NQPHN Chief Executive Officer Robin Whyte said the vaccination blitz for aged care workers in North Queensland was another important step in protecting older Australians.

“Aged care residents are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19, and we need to protect them to the best of our ability throughout this pandemic,” Ms Whyte said.

“The vaccination blitz was a significant logistical exercise, and I would like to say a huge thank you to our aged care workers, who are now able to protect our most vulnerable, and their families and friends.

“I’d also like to praise everyone involved in the success of the rollout, including the vaccine providers and primary care vaccinators who helped contribute to this fantastic achievement.”

NQPHN staff also worked closely with the Department of Health, and local Hospital and Health Services to ensure the rollout’s success.

“Our HCA teams were welcomed into this wonderful region, and were supported by the proactive, helpful work of NQPHN to successfully reach aged care workers,” said a HCA spokesperson.

Ms Whyte said all people aged 12 and above are now able to get a COVID-19 vaccine at general practices, pharmacies, GP-led respiratory clinics, and Queensland Health vaccination hubs.

To check how to book your COVID-19 vaccine, visit the COVID-19 Vaccine Eligibility Checker: (covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility) or if you prefer not to use the online option, you can call the National Coronavirus and COVID-19 Vaccination Helpline on 1800 020 080.

Why today?

Today, 10 September, is World Suicide Prevention Day. It is a dedicated day for us to raise awareness of the prevalence of suicide in our communities and share support for people in need.

This year we wanted to utilise the platforms we have created for suicide prevention in the Cairns and Hinterland region to help raise awareness for World Suicide Prevention Day as well as the launch of the Cairns and Hinterland SPCAP.

Accessing the plan

Whole-of-region strategy: the purpose of the plan is to set out the background, rationale, strategic drivers, and high level priority actions aligned to Black Dog Institute’s LifeSpan framework. The plan is designed to inform and guide implementation activities by providing a list of key actions that should be prioritised for implementation for the whole-of-region steering committee or local implementation teams. Access the Strategy here.

Whole-of-region actions register: the actions register lists all actions in this document in more detail, including a description, key stakeholders, readiness assessment, and implementation steps. It contains all actions which may be implemented at a whole-of-region level or locally and can be used by implementation teams to understand actions and the initial steps which may help their implementation. It is not intended that all actions will be implemented simultaneously, but rather this document will assist the whole-of-region steering committee and local implementation teams to prioritise actions for implementation. Access the Plan here.

Now what?

The project team who is working on the implementation of the Cairns and Hinterland SPCAP and will continue to engage local community members and finalise governance groups as outlined in the Whole-of-Region Strategy. The team will also be working towards facilitating the implementation of activities and strategies outlined in the documents above.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Project Coordinator, Gwion. 

If you or someone you know requires support, head to this page and check out the resources listed there.

The HNA is a systematic method for reviewing the health issues facing the North Queensland population. This is a key document that will assist NQPHN to plan evidence-based activities, aligned with our strategic priorities, to improve the wellbeing and reduce health inequalities of North Queenslanders.

NQPHN invites GPs, pharmacists, allied health professionals, nurses, AMS and ACCHO workers, and community health service providers to attend an interactive co-design workshop around NQPHN’s 2021-2024 HNA.

This is your opportunity to provide feedback on addressing the service gaps that have been identified through quantitative analysis completed as part of the HNA project.

Consultation workshops will be held across the NQPHN in Cairns, Mareeba, Townsville, and Mackay, starting Wednesday 13 September 2021. Click the links below to register your attendance:

• Townsville workshop
• Cairns workshop
• Mackay workshop