LATEST NEWS!
Changes to Medicare Co-Payment
Changes to the Medicare co-payment policy were announced on 9 December:
- From 19 January 2015, a GP who intends to charge the most common standard consultation (Level B) will have to spend between 10 and 20 minutes with a patient. Consultations lasting less than 10 minutes will now need to be charged as a short consultation (Level A).
- 1 July 2015 - there will be a $5 reduction in rebates for non-concessional patients for most GP attendances
- Indexation of Medicare rebates will be frozen for all services until 1 July 2018
Fact Sheets:
Useful resources for patients:
Vaccination for International Travel
With the various risks to health associated with international travel and the number of Australians travelling overseas increasing, recommending appropriate vaccinations is important.
The Australian Immunisation Handbook (10th Edition) has recommendations for people travelling overseas ... read more
Medicare Benefits Schedule Fee Summary
The Medicare Benefits Schedule Fee Summary has been produced by the RACGP as a quick and easy reference to item numbers and billing costs relevant to general practice ... read more
Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) Online
The 1 January 2015 MBS data files (ASCII and XML) are now available to download and a description of the changes can be found on the MBS Online website ... read more.
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Did you know.....
that Australia has one of the highest rates of obesity in the world with 63% of adults and one in four children being overweight or obese.
The Health Star Rating system was jointly funded by the state and territory governments and developed in collaboration with industry, public health and consumer groups.
It is a labelling system that rates the overall nutritional value of packaged food and provides a quick way to compare different foods ... read more
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TOP TIP FOR ACCREDITATION
A new year can mean new staff and it is important for your practice to have an Induction System for both new GPs and practice staff.
Induction should assist new staff to learn their new role and should include:
- A tour of the practice - including the location of toilets, staff room, parking, etc
- Meeting the GPs and other staff members
- Provision of the practice's Policy and Procedure Manual
- WHS training
Practices should have an Induction Checklist and induction should occur over a period of time rather than a quick tour on the first day.
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ACCREDITATION - ARE YOU READY?
 Accreditation is one of the best ways to identify areas of your practice that may need improving - is your accreditation due this year?If so, Medical Directions can help by guiding you through the Accreditation process and assisting in implementing any changes.
We offer a full Accreditation Package which includes onsite visits and ongoing consultation via phone and email.
Other ways we can help ...
- Create a new Policy and Procedure Manual to comply with the 4th Standards
- Set up your new practice and assist with purchasing equipment
- Orientation of new GPs to your practice
- Staff training in Best Practice and Medical Director
- Practice Manager mentoring
- Treatment Room policies and procedures
Medical Directions can help in lots of ways! Let us customise a package to suit your practice. Click here to find out more about our Consulting Services or visit our website.
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Practice Nurse Resources
There are many quick access resources on knowNOW! under Clinical/Nurses/Practice Nurse Resources - if you have a commonly used link that you think may help others, let us know and we will add it to the resource page.
Sign up today to receive a month's free trial of knowNOW! and once you realise how much it will help your practice it's just $38.95 per month which includes unlimited users!
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RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Lunch Box Ham and Zucchini Mini Frittatas
A great back to school lunch idea and good way to use up any left-over Christmas ham
Ingredients
1 zucchini - grated
8 slices of thinly sliced ham
½ cup grated cheese
6 eggs
salt and pepper
Method
Preheat oven to 160ºC
Grease muffin tins
Line each muffin cup with a slice of ham
Squeeze moisture out of the zucchini
Lightly whisk the eggs, add cheese and zucchini
Season and combine
Pour mixture into muffin tins
Bake in oven for 15 minutes and allow to cool before turning out
ENJOY!
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 | | Kathryn Davis |
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