In 2018 Life Fellow Dr Mark Craig generously created a bursary to further the professional development of ACRRM staff. The donation was made in recognition of the work staff at the College undertake each day to support rural and remote doctors.

Read more

ACRRM supports today’s announcement of a six-month extension to Medicare-subsidised telehealth to facilitate access to vital primary health care services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more

Dr Rachel James is a rural general practice obstetrician registrar who is currently undergoing two weeks mandatory isolation in order to return to Perth for family matters. Interested to gain fist-hand insight, we asked Dr James to discuss her thoughts about self-isolation, extended periods of quarantine, and mental health.

Read more

Rural doctors are asking patients to be honest about any cold and flu-like symptoms they may have when visiting a hospital or doctor. Dr Adam Coltzau, Clinical Lead of the COVID-19 Rural and Remote Response, said that it was essential that patients always be honest about any symptoms they may be suffering.

Read more

The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) proudly supports Nursing in the Community Week and acknowledges the integral role nurses play in health care teams and patient care in rural communities.

Read more

The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care has released a Discussion Paper on Quality Use of Medicines in the Aged Care Sector. This is part of a larger project to develop a national baseline report for the Quality Use of Medicines and Medicines Safety National Health Priority Area.

Read more

Primary Health Tasmania has created a COVID-19 guide for aged care facilities. In addition to the guide and to better enable communication between general practitioners and aged care facilities, a form has been designed to ensure facilities have access to relevant detailed contact information for GPs in the event of an outbreak.

Read more

The Rural Workforce Agency Victoria (RWAV) is seeking Expressions of Interest from suitably qualified applicants to fill Director vacancies on the RWAV Board for a term of three (3) years. Nominations close on Monday 28 September 2020 at 5.00pm and should be forwarded board@rwav.com.au

Read more

ACRRM congratulates Dr Karen Price on being elected as the incoming President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

Read more

ACRRM says today, RU OK and World Suicide Prevention Day, provides a timely reminder to rural and remote health professionals to look after themselves and each other.

Read more

Dr Rachel Gaggin is a rural GP in Penguin, Tasmania and works closely with her local pharmacy to deliver GP services to her community of approximately 4000 people just west of Devonport. She has recently implemented the new ePrescribing system in her practice working closely with her local pharmacy to allow patients to present their prescriptions using their mobile phones, in preference to the old paper script.

Read more

A Queensland Government trial to enable pharmacies in the state to undertake COVID testing is a recipe for disaster and a sure-fire way to spread the virus, Australia’s peak rural medical bodies warned again today. ACRRM and RDAA said it would be “incredibly difficult” to control the spread of the virus in pharmacies, if customers with symptoms attend pharmacies to be tested.

Read more

The National Immunisation Program has issued a reminder that 2020 National Immunisation Program and private market influenza vaccines are still available from vaccination providers around the country. While there has been a record number of influenza vaccines administered in 2020, there is still an opportunity to offer the vaccine to those who have not already been vaccinated this season.

Read more

Project ECHO is a free, interactive, online learning model that provides access to specialist advice, and aims to support and empower health, education and social service professionals to practice at the top of their scope, supporting people with complex, chronic and common conditions. Children’s Health Queensland will be hosting the series and further information about Project ECHO can be found on the CHQ website.

Read more

The latest figures on unintentional drug deaths in Australia show why it has been so important for changes to be made to the way opioids are prescribed. ACRRM and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) supported changes introduced in June by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which included reduced pack sizes for opioid medications. ​

Read more

Consultation on the draft National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards (NSQHS) Guide for Community Health Services is now open. The Commission will accept feedback on the consultation draft up to close of business on Friday 18 September 2020.

Read more

As travel restrictions are eased across much of Australia, rural doctors are urging visitors to their towns to work with them to ensure the local doctor workforce can continue to provide sustainable health services after what has been a horror year. ACRRM and the RDAA say public education is crucial in informing visitors that hospital care in rural areas relies on local GPs being called out of their homes after-hours - not in-house doctors who are at the hospital all the time. ​

Read more

The Australian Government has extended the Remote Area Health Corps (RAHC) to provide 12-week paid placements for General Practitioners in Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations across Australia. Until recently the program covered paid placements of between 3 – 12 weeks in the Northern Territory only. The funding variation will cover the health professionals whilst on placement plus an additional two weeks where self-isolation is required.

Read more

Members are strongly encouraged to provide feedback on the ‘implementation of Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce recommendations relating to the computed tomography angiography (CTA) for the investigation of pulmonary embolism’ proposal. Please send any comments to Jenny Johnson by Monday, 7 September.

Read more

Members are invited to contribute to the National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) consultation on policy modifications that will give all NCSP participants a choice to screen using either a self-collected or a clinician-collected sample. Both options would be accessed through a healthcare provider. This follows a recommendation in 2018 from the Standing Committee on Screening to change the self-collection policy.

Read more