List your TeleHealth services: Free on ACRRM provider directory

Listing on the ACRRM Provider Directory is free for all our registered clinicians and practice managers. If you are not yet registered, do it now at www.ehealth.acrrm.org.au. (It’s also free to register.)  Registered users can list the TeleHealth services they provide and search for other TeleHealth-enabled clinicians and services by categories such as discipline (e.g. paediatrics,  ophthalmology etc.), technology used, location, or name. More ...

ACRRM ALS course, 3 March 2012: Tasmania

Rural Clinical School, Burnie, Tasmania: Saturday 3 March, 2012
To ensure optimum benefit from this hands-on training course, numbers are strictly limited to 20. Run and accredited by ACRRM, this one-day Advanced Life Support (ALS) course equips general practitioners to manage common emergencies in rural practice, incorporating key aspects of advanced life support skills in accordance with the Australian Resuscitation Council guidelines.   To secure your place, complete the short online registration form on the College website.

ACRRM/Sonosite intro to ultrasound in EM

This introductory level workshop is designed for rural emergency medicine/critical care physicians and general practitioners with little or no prior ultrasound experience. It includes ultrasound physics and knobology, FAST, AAA and other relevant instruction. To ensure quality instruction, the workshop is limited to 20 participants. A detailed program outline for this course will be available in the New Year.  To secure your place, please complete the short online registration form on the College website.

New! Clinical guidelines update with easy-find facility

The December 2011 update of the ACRRM Clinical Guidelines is now available to download from RRMEO. Guidelines have been amended in eight fields, including adult internal medicine, anaesthetic crisis algorithms, emergency medicine, surgery and ophthalmology. This update also offers new options for finding a particular topic quickly, and a comprehensive list of abbreviations. The guidelines are in printable PDF.

Fellows invited to become panellists: IMG pre-employment interviews

ACRRM has completed the last of the scheduled Pre-employment Structured Clinical Interviews (PESCIs) for 2011, having conducted over 180 interviews this year in Queensland. ACRRM has now been accredited by the Australian Medical Council to conduct PESCI’s in South Australia and Tasmania and is looking forward to providing this service in those states as well as Queensland in the New Year.
If you are a Fellow of ACRRM you are encourage you to become a PESCI panellist in your state. Please email Annelise Carter (a [dot] carteracrrm [dot] org [dot] au) for details.

MCQ exam enrolment date extended to 31 December

Registrars planning to take the first MCQ in 2012, scheduled for 10 March, have until 31 December to lodge their enrolment application. A short, 10-question sample of an MCQ exam is on the Assessment page of the College website. The fees and eligibility criteria are included on the MCQ 2012 enrolment form. For more information, please email the Assessment team: assessmentacrrm [dot] org [dot] au.
Does your AHPRA registration need updating?
AHPRA is updating the Specialists Register. In future Medicare Australia will also be relying on the Specialists Register to determine eligibility for Medicare specialist rebates. The accuracy of practitioners’ listing on the Specialists Register, including your specialty, with any field of specialty practice, will guide Medicare Australia in determining whether patients are able to access a specialist rebate. Read the briefing note on the Board’s website.

ACRRM office closing Christmas to New Year

The College’s head office will close at 1.00 pm tomorrow, Friday 23 December 2011 and reopen for the New Year on Tuesday, 3 January 2012.

AIHW reports

2010 Australian national infant feeding survey
The 2010 Australian National Infant Feeding Survey is the first specialised national survey of infant feeding practices in Australia. The survey also collected information on attitudes towards, and enablers for and barriers against breastfeeding.
Australia's mothers and babies 2009
In 2009, 294,540 women gave birth to 299,220 babies in Australia. The increase in births continued, with 2,295 more births (0.8%) than reported in 2008. The average age of women who gave birth in Australia has increased gradually in recent years, from 29.0 years in 2000 to 30.0 years in 2009.
Acute coronary syndrome (national hospital data)
Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) refers to the spectrum of acute coronary artery diseases spanning acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina. They are sudden, severe and life-threatening events.
Neural tube defects in Australia: prevalence before mandatory folic acid fortification
This report describes the prevalence and trends of neural tube defects (NTD) in Australia during the past decade. The best estimated prevalence of NTD among pregnancies is presented based on the information from states that collect near complete data on NTD. Characteristics and outcomes of the births and pregnancy characteristics of mothers are presented.
Rural and Remote Health Research
Blood, guts and knife cuts: reducing the risk of swine brucellosis in feral pig hunters in north-west New South Wales, Australia
Recently in Australia, human infection with swine brucellosis has been disproportionately high among feral pig hunters in some rural areas. To explore an apparent failure of established risk-reduction strategies, a grounded theory approach gave voice to this hard-to-reach group. The researchers were rewarded with some rich data, including public health strategies specific to this group and advice on how to disseminate them.
WorkCover NSW Medical Fee Schedules for GPs in 2012
WorkCover NSW advises that new rates for medical fees have been gazetted to apply for GP services provided on and after 1 January 2012. The incorrect use of AMA items can result in penalties, including the medical practitioner being asked to repay monies to WorkCover that have been incorrectly received. The schedule of new fees, which takes effect from Sunday week, 1 January 2012, is available on the WorkCover NSW website.

Dates for your diary

Rural Medicine Australia 2012, Fremantle WA, will incorporate the biennial scientific forum on rural and remote medicine. A call for abstracts will go out early in the New Year. Mark the dates in your diary - Friday 26 October to Sunday 28 October. Allow a few extra days if you plan to attend the pre-conference procedural workshops.