Welcome,

To the first Spring edition of GP Partners Australia’s enews.

After all that 2020 and 2021 brought, we have found staying connected to one another has been so important. What is also important is to check in with yourself, to acknowledge how you are feeling and to reach out if you need.

Indeed, it has been unprecedented times. Millions of people around the world have died from COVID-19 and millions more have felt the shock of global economies in crisis, and although the pandemic rages with more severe variants spreading around the world, we remain optimistic.

This year has certainly been one of many challenges and changes for GP Partners Australia. We are excited that we are about to launch a new GP ADHD Mental Health Shared Care Program in the coming months, and we have said a sad farewell to the much-valued GP Palliative Shared Care Program earlier this year. 

On the other hand, the SA GP Obstetric Shared Care Program has gained much momentum this year, with over 50 new GPs becoming accredited to the Statewide Program. The Program now boasts over 720 GPs providing antenatal care to women over 20 weeks’ gestation in South Australia and continues to be confidently managed by GP Partners Australia.

After two years at the helm of GP Partners Australia and Plexus Research, CEO Suhit Anantula stepped down. In a short period of time Suhit was instrumental in creating Plexus Research, a unique model of bringing clinical trials into GP Practices and building the technology to drive it. 

GP Partners Australia has grown during Suhit’s tenure as CEO and he leaves a very capable and skilled team of people who are extremely focused on developing activities promoting education. training, research, innovation, and performance that is quality driven to its members. 

In South Australia and at GP Partners we have witnessed and been part of breathtaking innovation. We have seen how quickly we can change our behaviour when circumstances require it. The effort we put in matters a great deal.

GP Partners Australia remains committed to promoting General Practice as the major focus of primary health care and as the prime entity for the delivery of effective integrated health management for individuals and families. Digital technology has become increasingly important to us at GP Partners as we seek innovative solutions, not only to improve the quality of our services to our members but to create new resources and services with additional value.

Leanne March is now the General Manager at GP Partners Australia and she will lead the organisation through the transformation that is required to meet the challenges of the current environment. The Board of Directors has confidence in Leanne and the senior management team to steer the organisation this year and beyond and to meet the needs of the GPs and communities that GP Partners Australia serves.    

Stay up to date with the latest information by clicking on the links below.

Plexus Research

Plexus Research was established in 2020 to leverage GP Partners Australia’s extensive GP network for conducting cutting edge trials for global pharma & bio-tech companies, new medical devices and enabling digital health start-ups to showcase their value.
 
Plexus Research benefits from a detailed understanding of the GPs business model and the challenges faced by individual general practitioners and practice managers. The GP market is dominated by small scale practices structured as partnerships (generally up to 10 GPs per practice) who function without standardised business models.  The market is becoming increasingly fragmented and suffers from a significant decline in growth and indeed revenue due to freezes on Medicare funding increases. 

This has a course led to GP practices becoming increasingly commoditised and open to diversification opportunities as they attempt to claw back profit margins.
 
Plexus research goals are to:

  • Build on our beginnings as South Australia’s largest clinical trial network and expand to create the largest clinical trial network operating in Australia;
  • Facilitate clinical trials on drugs, devices, and digital health solutions (3D);
  • Leverage an exclusive network of General Practitioners and their practice facilities to create a “platform” clinical trial model in which trial participants are pre-vetted and approved before offering the packages bespoke clinical trial group to Sponsors.

CLICK HERE to visit Plexus Research

Continuing Professional Development

Facts and Fertility
 

Presented by the GP Obstetric Shared Care Program 

  • Date: Thursday 23rd September 2021
  • Time:   6.00pm – 9.15pm
  • Venue:  The Healthy Living Precinct, Welland

Complimentary dinner provided. Free parking.
 

Understand the categories and explanatory notes in the Medicare Schedule, to assist you with MBS compliance. Know how and where to find item numbers, restrictions and non-rebatable services.

According to the Department of Health there has been an increase in the occurrence of infertility in Australia over the past ten years – but is this because people are having more trouble getting pregnant, or are there other factors at play?


6 CPD Program points allocated in the RACGP CPD Program for the 2020-2022 triennium
6 CPD Program points allocated in the GP OSC Program for the 2020-2022 triennium

Register Now

COVID-19 Vaccination for Pregnant Women

From Monday 6th September 2021 pregnant women who are patients of WCHN can access the COVID 19 Pfizer vaccine by presenting to Boylan Ward, WCH or Enfield Clinic as a walk-in (no appointment necessary).
 

The Clinical Guidance on use of COVID-19 Vaccine in Australia (ATAGI) deem pregnant women as a priority group for vaccination and recommend they are routinely offered the Pfizer vaccine at any stage of pregnancy.
 
Process:
All antenatal outpatient areas are encouraged to

  • provide the women with a COVID-19 Vaccine Consent and Screening Form to complete (see below)
  • direct them to Boylan Ward, WCH or the Enfield Clinic
  • advise they may need to wait prior to being vaccinated as they do not have booked appointments.


I have attached:

Pregnant women are a priority group for COVID-19 vaccination, and should be routinely offered Pfizer mRNA vaccine (Cominarty) or Spikevax (Moderna) at any stage of pregnancy. 

Talking Vaccination: Information for Women

Pregnant women have a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. In this webinar, experts will discuss COVID vaccination in pregnancy, breastfeeding, and those planning to be pregnant. They will dispel myths and highlight the global evidence, which has shown that vaccines are safe for women and their babies.  The event is open to both the general public as well as medical practitioners and specialists. 

Healthy Collective

Dr Paul Richards represents an organisation called the Healthy Collective (HC) that exists to improve the effectiveness and collaboration of healthcare in Australia.

Currently the HC are working on a project in partnership with the South Australian Department of Innovation and Skills (DIS) to identify any areas in which further development and training resources might improve the skills and future outcomes for individuals and health care organisations.

It would be very much appreciated if you could spend a few minutes completing the questionnaire via the link below and forwarding this email to others in your contact list that you believe may have the desire and passion to identify ways in which the quality of health care can be improved. It doesn’t matter whether they respond as a health practitioner/professional, representative of a health care organisation or an individual consumer/patient.

PLEASE Complete the Health Care Capabilities Questionnaire Here

Completion of the questionnaire is anonymous but also allows the option to provide some confidential details to allow further participation in the project, the Healthy Collective and/or to be in the running to win an iPad.  

Please ask anyone you forward this email and questionnaire to address and enquiries to the details below:

paul.richards@healthycollective.com.au
https://www.healthylivingprecinct.com.au/
 

Thank you in advance for your time, support and contribution.

GPs
Can you help us find out the ideal amount of iodine needed in pregnancy for baby’s brain development?

Please complete this form indicating whether you are interested in inviting your pregnant women who are less than 13 weeks into their pregnancy to take part in this research. 

We are offering a small payment for your valued assistance.

CLICK HERE to register your interest

CLICK HERE for details about the PoppiE Study