Resources for Members
Guidelines on completing Workers Compensation Medical Certificates
22nd Aug 2011: Guidelines have recently been developed by WorkCover in conjunction with local and interstate medical practitioners and the AMA. The guideline aims to assist medical practitioners when completing certificates by defining the information to be included certificates and also clarifying the standard of information that should be provided.
In addition the guidelines provide clarification as to the purpose of each field, how they should be completed, and it also provides examples of typical mistakes often made.
WorkCover encourages medical practitioners to review the guideline and ensure that their practices are consistent with the guide. Click here for a complete copy.
A Guide to Working Abroad for Australian Medical Students and Junior Doctors
"Training and working abroad is rewarding professionally and personally for medical students and junior doctors ... A guide to working abroad ... provides everything that travelling students or junior doctors need to make their placement a success. It will be absolutely essential reading for any medical student or junior doctor planning to work abroad. Senior doctors will also find the contents of the guide invaluable." Click here for full copy.
Patients survey about GP's
Last year the AMA commissioned Essential Research to do some research into public attitudes toward primary healthcare services.
The aim was to reveal public attitudes relating to the Federal Government's push to decrease the role of General Practitioners and increase the role of independent health practitioners. The AMA also wanted to get a snapshot of public perceptions of GPs and the system in which they work.
The overwhelming message is that GPs are considered by the public to be the most trustworthy, knowledgeable and experienced health professionals. Nurses, hospital doctors and locums fare well in the public eye. Alternative therapists have considerably less popular respect but GPs top the three key categories of the survey.
The survey also showed that the majority of Australians want to see more nurses but they want them working with doctors, not as a replacement for them. 82 per cent of those surveyed agree that the best outcome for patients is to have doctors and nurses work together. 76 per cent want a model that sees Government funding more nurses to work with GPs in general practice.
It's clear that GPs occupy a special place as respected professionals and trusted members of the community. This research should send a strong message to politicians who are considering shifting the role of GPs in primary healthcare. Click here for the PDF booklet.
Social Media Guide for Medical professionals
The AMA has released an online professionalism guide to assist doctors and medical students to maintain professional standards when using online social media. The guide - Social Media and the Medical Profession - was developed by the AMA Council of Doctors-in-Training (AMACDT), the New Zealand Medical Association Doctors-in-Training Council, the New Zealand Medical Students' Association, and the Australian Medical Students' Association. Click here for a links to the PDF.
Collaborative Arrangements - What you need to know
The Commonwealth Government is implementing reforms to allow nurse practitioners and midwives to provide Medicare-funded services to patients and to prescribe medications listed on the PBS. These changes are scheduled to commence on 1 November 2010. The AMA has worked very hard to ensure that these reforms do not fragment patient care or deny patients access to a medical practitioner.
Importantly, the Government has enshrined in law the requirement for nurse practitioners and midwives to work in collaborative arrangements with medical practitioners in order to get MBS and PBS access.
The AMA has prepared a guide "Collaborative Arrangements - What you need to know" to help answer many of the questions doctors will have about collaborative arrangements and how they should be structured, as well as identify key issues that doctors should take into account when considering being part of a collaborative arrangement.
List of Dentists who participate in the Medicare Dental Scheme
Here the AMA has provided a list of Dentists around the state who have advised the ADA that they are participating in the Medicare Dental Scheme. This scheme allows patients who have a chronic illness to access dental care that they may otherwise be unable to obtain.
Click here for the list of dentists. Click here for a description of the service. Click here for a link to the Australian Government Website on the Service.
Medical Certificates
The AMA policy and position statement on the issuing of Medical Certificates. Adopted in 1998 and amended in 2002. A certificate certifying illness may be issued where a patient's state of health necessitates time away from the work-place. This may be because the employee cannot work or should not work.
AMA Federal Website link. Click here.
Public holidays in Tasmania
A list from the Tasmanian State Government of all statutory public holidays Click here.
Australian Medical Council - Code for Good Medical Practice
The AMC developed the Code - Good Medical Practice: A Code of Conduct for Doctors in Australia - on behalf of all state and territory medical registration boards. The Code has been recommended to individual state and territory medical boards, ahead of the introduction of national medical registration in mid-2010. Subject to the constraints of their existing legislation, state and territory boards can choose to endorse the Code in principle or adopt it to replace their existing codes. The AMC has also recommended the Code to the Agency Management Committee of the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS), pending the establishment of the Medical Board of Australia.
Click here for a PDF copy of the code.
Transfer of medical records - a guide.
1 To ensure appropriate on going care, when a patient transfers to other medical practitioners, medical practitioners should, when asked by a patient, make available either a copy of the original record or a summary. The reasonable cost for this service should be borne by the patient.
2 While records containing patient medical information do not belong to the patient, the patient has a legal right to access those records.
3 When a patient requests that his/her records be made available to another medical practitioner, a medical practitioner should act on that request.
4 Medical practitioners are under no obligation to provide their original records. These should be retained by the practitioner who created them.
5 A copy of a patient's record may be sent to the patient's new practitioner. Depending on the size and/or complexity of the record, medical practitioners may wish to provide a health summary instead, if the patient agrees.
6 Copies of test results and other investigations, including plans of management should be made available. Copies of clinical reports from other medical practitioners about the patient may be included.
7. Doctors should be entitled to recover from the patient or from any other legally authorised person or authority requesting the information, the reasonable cost of providing access to the information contained in a medical record.
Click here for the full position statement.
Safe Work Hours Code of Practice
This document sets out the best practice as developed by the AMA in 2005. See page 14 for details of safe shift times and frequency. Click here for the document in PDF.
Privacy Handbook for Doctors in the Private Sector
The AMA has developed this Resource Book to help doctors comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth), as amended, which affects all doctors practicing in the private sector with effect from 21 December 2001. The book aims to give doctors a sound grounding in the National Privacy Principles (NPPs), so they can more easily implement the changes required to comply with privacy legislation. Click here to download.
Privacy Legislation - Professional Indemnity Insurance for Medical Practitioners
The Medical Indemnity Industry Association (MIIAA) is the peak body for medical indemnity issues in Australia. Members of MIIAA represent over 70 percent of the market for professional indemnity insurance for medical practitioners.
Privacy Legislation (112 kb pdf file)
The AMA - Winning for General Practice
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is the peak health advocacy organisation in Australia. The AMA advances the professional interests of doctors and the health of the community. The AMA represents more than 28,000 doctors and is the public face of Australian medicine.
The AMA - Winning for General Practice (pdf file)
Taxation ruling and guide - Service Trust
Taxation Ruling TR 2006
Income tax: deductibility of service fees paid to associated service entities: Phillips arrangements (pdf file)
Your service entity arrangements - A guide to help you ensure your business is claiming only deductible service fees and charges for your service entity arrangements. (pdf file)
Treatment of Work Related Injury and Illness
The Medical Profession and the Treatment of Work Related Injury and Illness
Endorsed by: The Australian Medical Association Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Division of General Practice August 2000.
View/download from the website of Work Cover Tasmania. (126KB pdf)
Refugee health care
Go to the website of Health and Human Services to view some useful pages:
- Multicultural health (including the non-medical version of the refugee health guide)
- Extranet - restricted sites with information for immunisation providers, environmental officers and medical practitioners (You will need a username and password to access this part of the site.)
Popular asthma management chart re-launched
On 9 May 2005 the National Asthma Council of Australia together with Merck Sharpe and Dohme released a new version of their popular patient resource.
Read the accompanying media release. (Microsoft Word document)
View the poster (pdf file)
Legal
Review of the Law of Negligence - Final Report - September 2002 (1.2MB pdf file)