The course is accredited with the RACGP as a CPD Accredited Activity (40 CPD points) and with ACRMM as a PDP Activity (6 PDP hours). It is also accredited by the General Practice Mental Health Standards Collaboration (GPMHSC) as stand-alone Clinical Enhancement Module. As with all of Emerging Mind’s training and resources, this course is available to practitioners free of charge.

The package includes:

• a summary of the course and its learning outcomes
• a prescribed GP learning pathway that includes other relevant online courses
• a Pathways of Care template for you to download and use to create a central database for services you can reach out to
• a promotional video about this course.

Last year, Emerging Minds released their e-learning titled A GP framework for child mental health assessment (5-12 years), which is accredited at the same level as the course for 0 to 5 year-olds. These are the only courses available in Australia that are designed exclusively for GPs working in mental health treatment planning and management for children aged under 12. 

The role of Emerging Mind’s Team is to assist professionals and organisations across primary care to implement workforce development strategies that strengthen support for infant and child mental health and to have the skills to identify, assess, and support children aged 0 to 12 at risk of mental health conditions.

To learn more, visit https://emergingminds.com.au/online-course/mhst-0-5-years/

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Northern Queensland Primary Health Network’s (NQPHN) Vaccine Works campaign spotlights the region’s vaccinating general practices and pharmacies and focuses on the primary care sector’s highly successful role in increasing COVID-19 vaccination rates in North Queensland.

In Innisfail, general practices and pharmacies are currently vaccinating the local community, including:

• Rankin Street Medical Centre
• Innisfail Family Health
• Innisfail Medical Centre
• Chemist Warehouse.

As of today (2 November 2021), Rankin Street Medical Centre, Innisfail Family Health, and Chemist Warehouse have together delivered more than 12,000 COVID vaccines to the wider Innisfail community, which has a population of approximately 10,000 people.

Rankin Street Medical Centre has been vaccinating the local Innisfail community since the vaccination rollout program began earlier this year, establishing a stand-alone vaccination site.

“We decided very early that vaccinating all the adults in the area was never going to happen in a reasonable timeframe without a high-throughput designated facility,” said Dr Simon Birchley, GP at Rankin Street Medical Centre.

“Fortunately, a suitable site for such a stand-alone clinic was available next to our practice, with computer and telephone connectivity, and the model has worked pretty well.

“The real heroes have been our staff – managing the bookings, stock control, and vaccination process while dealing with a constant and at times overwhelming number of calls and walk-in questions about timing and eligibility in the early months.”

Innisfail Family Health has been vaccinating local residents with both Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

“As a Registered Nurse (RN), I have a responsibility to ensure I educate and encourage members of the public to be vaccinated,” said practice RN Michelle McCarthy.

Joel Ng, Managing Partner and pharmacist at Chemist Warehouse Innisfail, said it has been great to see pharmacies able to administer COVID-19 vaccines to the community.

“Chemist Warehouse Innisfail was one of the first few pharmacies approved for the COVID-19 vaccine rollout,” said Mr Ng.

“The uptake of the vaccine has been very positive from the Innisfail community.

“We were fully booked on our vaccination days and had to increase the booking slot in order to accommodate for the demand.”

NQPHN Chief Executive Officer Robin Whyte praised Innisfail’s vaccinating GPs and pharmacies and said the primary care sector is playing a key role in the ever-increasing rate of COVID-19 vaccinations across North Queensland.

“Our Vaccine Works campaign is about showcasing our local primary care providers for all the amazing work they’ve done over the past few months to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates in North Queensland and protect our community,” Ms Whyte said.

In North Queensland, there are currently 135 general practices, 115 pharmacies, 10 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and four GP-led Respiratory Clinics administering COVID-19 vaccines (Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna).

To book a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, including at Queensland Health clinics, people are encouraged to use the Australian Government’s official COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder at https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au

As of 1 February 2022, these patients will not have the applicable co-payment reduction applied when their prescriptions are being dispensed. PBS General Schedule medicines prescribed under the Program have been issued for patients who are not formally registered for the Program with Services Australia. The Department is seeking your assistance to address this issue.

To ensure eligible patients are formally registered for the Program and continue to receive their PBS medicines at the reduced PBS co‑payment, we are asking that you review the registration status for any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander patients. Patient registration status can be checked using the Health Professional Online Services (HPOS). If the patient is not formally registered with Services Australia, HPOS will indicate that the person is “inactive”. In this case you will need to contact that patient to arrange to have them assessed by either a PBS Prescriber or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioner.

This issue must be rectified before 31 January 2022 to ensure all eligible Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander patients who have previously received their PBS General Schedule medicines under the Program can continue to do so.

Information on registering patients for the Program can be found on the Department of Health website: https://www.pbs.gov.au/info/publication/factsheets/closing-the-gap-pbs-co-payment-measure

For PBS Prescribers, if you require information on using HPOS this can be found on the Services Australia website: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/organisations/health-professionals/services/medicare/closing-gap-pbs-co-payment-health-professionals/prescribers

The Department of Health appreciates the important work that Practice Managers/ PBS Prescribers do and trust that you will assist the Department in ensuring that all eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are correctly registered for the program.

Helpful videos

• How to register for an individual account.
• How to register a patient for Closing the Gap (CTG) PBS Co-payment.

A data breach occurs when there is unauthorised access to personal information (including where information has been lost), risk of serious harm to individuals to whom the information relates, or an organisation has been unable to prevent the risk of serious harm. There has been a “significant shift” in the source of data breaches. In the past human error was most frequently listed as the main cause, yet in 2021 criminal or malicious attacks were the main source. One of the most significant cyber incidents in the Australian healthcare landscape was the attack of Queensland’s Uniting Care, which forced them to turn to paper operations for over a month.

“We expect entities to have appropriate internal practices, procedures and systems in place to assess and respond to data breached involving ransomware, including a clear understanding of how and where personal information is stored across their network.” – Angelene Falk, Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner.

If you are new to the world of data governance, or would benefit from a refresher, there are great resources available to assist you.

• Privacy in Practice is a one-hour eLearning course containing three 20-minute modules including an introduction to the Privacy Act 1988 and key concepts, the safe handling personal information, and managing privacy issues. A certificate of completion is provided upon finishing the course.
• The OAIC provide this sample Notifiable Data Breach form to assist with training staff. In its live form, it is used to inform the Australian Information Commissioner of an eligible data breach where required by the Privacy Act 1988.
• RACGP’s Standards for general practices (5th edition) (Criterion C6.4 [information security]) contains indicators relating to practice’s legal obligation to manage health information. The RACGP’s information security in general practice guide can help you to set up your information security governance, assess the risks and keep your practice running, secure your network and equipment, and be safer online.

Managing and mitigating risk with good security governance allows your practice to operate successfully and sustainably, allowing you to focus on providing quality patient care.