This week, Tasmanian HealthPathways celebrated its fifth birthday and the launch of the new mobile-friendly platform.
At five years old and with more than 750 live pathways, Primary Health Tasmania's Tasmanian HealthPathways is one of the oldest and largest Pathways sites in Australia. It's a long way from the 60 pathways on diabetes and cardiac-related illness that kicked the portal off in 2014!
The new mobile-friendly platform will mean an improved user experience on mobile phones and tablets, while remaining accessible from desktops. Please note, the new platform may require existing users to login, even on devices with saved log in details.
A reminder the details are:
- username: connectingcare
- password: health
Far from resting on its laurels, the Tasmanian HealthPathways team has set the lofty goal of developing and renewing 100 pathways for the 2019-20 financial year, ensuring up-to-date clinical and referral information is available to users.
If you or a member of your practice has any feedback on the new Tasmanian HealthPathways design, please let us know via tashealthpathways@primaryhealthtas.com.au
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New and updated Tasmanian HealthPathways include:
- My Health Record
- Fitness to drive-related events.
You can log into Tasmanian HealthPathways using username: connectingcare and password: health.
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The Australian Department of Health is committed to ensuring all general practices that are registered to participate in the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Quality Improvement (QI) Incentive, and have met all required eligibility requirements, receive an incentive payment for the first PIP QI quarter (August to October 2019).
To ensure that general practices know when to expect a PIP QI Incentive payment, the Department has provided a fact sheet, accessible below.
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Extreme heat can potentially lead to poor health for vulnerable Tasmanians — especially the very young, the very old, pregnant women and those with existing medical conditions.
Tasmanians are less used than other Australians to dealing with extremely hot days.
Staff at the Tasmanian Department of Health have created a fact sheet about heat-related health, and have free resources available for distribution upon request.
The Australian Department of Health has also collated a range of heat-related resources and advice, available here.
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The Black Dog Institute’s Advanced Training in Suicide Prevention program is now eligible for one day of funding under the Rural Procedural Grants Program.
This means is that any GP registered with the Rural Procedural Grants Program wishing to attend Advanced Training in Suicide Prevention is able to do so anywhere in Australia and access up to $2,000 which covers the cost of the workshop, travel and accommodation.
This is available to GP members of both the RACGP and ACRRM.
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The Tasmanian Health Department's Public Health Services, along with Sexual Health Services, encourage GPs to continue to be vigilant in screening women (especially of reproductive age) for all STIs including syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia and blood-borne viruses.
It comes after an increase in gonococcal notifications and an increase in the proportion of female notifications in Tasmania over the last two years.
In previous years, females accounted for less than one-fifth of gonococcal infections. In 2019, this proportion has increased to almost one-third of gonococcal notifications.
Nationally, there has been an increased rate of infectious syphilis in non-Indigenous females, predominantly those living in major cities. This has not been observed in Tasmania but has considerable clinical implications for the risk of congenital syphilis.
Clinicians at Sexual Health Services can be contacted for advice at any time on 6166 2672 or 6777 1371.
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The Tasmanian Health Department's Public Health Services advises there has been an increase in pertussis notifications in Tasmania from late 2018 onward.
Pregnant women should be vaccinated against pertussis to prevent pertussis illness in children less than six months of age, who are more likely to suffer a more serious clinical course.
Pertussis vaccine is currently funded under the National Immunisation Program for pregnant women, ideally between 20-32 weeks gestation, but they can be vaccinated up until delivery.
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Until 15 December, the COAG (Council of Australian Governments) Health Council is seeking feedback about what should be included in a 10-year national obesity strategy.
Health professionals can give their feedback via a short or long survey, and there will be a community consultation event in Hobart on Monday 9 December.
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The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association is calling for abstract submissions for its national conference, to be held in Sydney in May 2020.
Nurses working in primary health care and any general practice team members are welcome to submit abstract ideas.
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With a quarter of all Tasmanians living below the poverty line and Hobart now ranked the least affordable capital city in Australia, the Tasmanian Department of Communities has developed a Housing Connect fact sheet to clarify how people access housing and homelessness services across the state.
The fact sheet available via the button below explains the Housing Connect system and lists crisis and transitional accommodation services by population group and region.
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The 2020-22 triennium starts on 1 January, and both the RACGP and ACCRM have updated their websites to help members learn more about the changes, including new professional development requirements.
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The Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association is hosting a webinar on Tuesday 3 December that aims to increase participants' knowledge and confidence in how to maximise the MBS for nurse clinics.
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Following consultation with healthcare providers, Epilepsy Tasmania has launched a resources and referral hub for health professionals. The hub includes medical referral forms, guides for writing epilepsy management plans and more.
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Date: Wednesday 4 December
Time: 9:00am to 4:00pm
Location: Burnie
Cost: $90 per person
Host: Kentish Regional Clinic
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The workshop will focus on the experiences of LGBTI people in regional and rural Australia, the three critical points of an LGBTI person’s mental health journey and practical strategies to improve everyday practice to work effectively in an effort to reduce suicide.
Click here to find out more, and register.
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Date: Thursday 5 December
Time: 7:00am - 8:30am (light breakfast included)
Location: Hobart
Cost: Free
Host: Primary Health Tasmania
RSVP: Friday 29 November
Date: Friday 6 December
Time: 7:00am - 8:30am (light breakfast included)
Location: Launceston
Cost: Free
Host: Primary Health Tasmania
RSVP: Friday 29 November
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Primary Health Tasmania welcomes Professor Bruce Robinson, Chair of the MBS Review Taskforce, to Tasmania to provide an update on the MBS Review.
These events will allow for Professor Robinson to meet with Tasmanian specialists, GPs and other stakeholders to provide an update on the MBS Review and offer an opportunity for questions and discussion.
This is timely given the work of the Taskforce is now shifting towards implementation and final consideration of key reports, and it will be a valuable chance for stakeholders in Tasmania to listen, ask questions and participate.
Click here to find out more, and register.
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Date: Tuesday 10 December
Time: 6:30pm registration and light meal, 7:00pm to 9:30pm seminar
Location: Launceston
Cost: Free
Host: Primary Health Tasmania
RSVP: Tuesday 3 December
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GPs are invited to this event, and launch of the revised GP Pregnancy Care Record booklet.
Click here to download a flyer, and register.
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Sarah Yarsley was an English teenager when she decided to apply for an orthopaedic nursing course, mainly as a way to stop her father finding out that she'd dropped out of school.
"I was at school in England doing A levels (and) doing four subjects. I was not happy with them, and I gradually gave up each subject until I had no reason to go to school," the General Practice Plus Kingston team member recalls.
"So I applied for the orthopaedic nursing course because I thought it would keep my father happy. I was accepted and it was honestly the best decision I have ever made - I have been nursing since 1975."
Here’s what else Sarah told Primary Health Tasmania:
- On her job's biggest challenge: "My biggest challenge is probably the same as for many nurses – time versus work load. There is never enough time and always plenty to be done."
- On the best professional advice she's received: "A nursing tutor once told my class of first-year registered nursing students that it was up to each of us to maintain our own standards. I know we have our code of practice and our ethical standards, but he meant that it was up to each individual nurse to have her/his own benchmark and to ensure that we always strived to do our very best, which is what I try to do every day."
- On how Tasmania reminds her of her first home: "I grew up in Cornwall, England, and emigrated to Australia in 1990 with my husband and two young sons. After living in Western Australia, Papua New Guinea and Queensland we wanted somewhere that was Australian but felt like Cornwall. Tasmania is the perfect match for us."
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Our workforce support team is always happy to visit your practice to help with the Pen Clinical Audit tool, Tasmanian HealthPathways, My Health Record, or Quality Improvement. Need a visit? Simply email our team using the button below.
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