CEO ’ s Report
Charles Wurf | ATMS CEO
CPE audit 2022-2023 ATMS is in the final stages of preparing for the full return of our CPE audit for 2022-2023 .
The ATMS audit for this year will return to its full traditional rigour , as the ongoing commitment of members to continuous education is a central platform of our professional status . ATMS members selected for the audit this year will be notified directly and will be provided a full suite of support resources to understand and implement the evidence requirements for the audit .
ATMS members commitment to annual and ongoing CPE is one the pillars of Accredited Membership with ATMS . Ongoing CPE encourages regular updates of your clinical skills and professional knowledge to ensure a high standard of care is provided to your clients .
To maintain professional standing , it is a requirement of ATMS and Health Funds that an Accredited Member undertake continuing professional education activities to the value of 20 CPE points each financial year . Consequently , ATMS undertakes an annual random CPE audit of a minimum of 5 % of its Accredited Membership .
Recent years saw significant disruption to planned CPE activities due to COVID , and audit activities made recognition of those special circumstances .
There will be no COVID related special circumstances for the current audit year , and for those members selected in the audit sample full compliance is expected .
Under contract arrangements with ATMS , health funds also carry out their own randomly selected CPE audits . Should you be selected for a separate audit by a health fund , you will be expected to submit CPE documents related to the modality ( s ) for which you are being audited by the health fund and you will need to comply with the specified timeframe for submitting documents as stipulated by the health fund undertaking the audit .
The health funds resumed their audit activity at the end of 2022 , and also recognized that there were exceptional COVID circumstances over recent years .
It is important to note that strict CPE evidence compliance has now returned for 2023 , and successful completion of the audit is an expected outcome for continuation as an ATMS Accredited Member .
Natural medicine week is back ! Without doubt Natural Medicine Week remains the centrepiece of the ATMS engagement strategy with the Australian public , and we continue to build success and awareness through this fantastic member driven initiative .
Natural Medicine Week , 22 to 28 May 2023 , aims to promote , educate and raise awareness of the important role natural medicine practitioners play in the health and wellbeing of Australians , proudly supported by the Australian Traditional- Medicine Society .
Natural Medicine Week is a great opportunity for natural medicine practitioners and users to come together to share knowledge and good health via a range of special online events running throughout the week .
Members can find full details in the direct emails from ATMS and at the dedicated website naturalmedicineweek . com . au .
Renewed website project atms . com . au A significant new project has been approved by the Board and is now underway for the first half of 2023 , the replacement and upgrade of the existing atms . com . au website and cleansing and improving the ATMS member database . This substantial project will be rolled out over the next 18 months and has followed on from an extensive scoping exercise with staff , Board and stakeholders in 2022 . The first stage will involve the new website , which will utilise a Word Press platform . The second stage will see a new database integrated ; this is a substantial undertaking due to the number of records held by the organisation .
We look forward to sharing the new website with members later in 2023 .
Contact us for support For any aspect of ATMS membership and health fund administration , the ATMS team is available to contact on 1800 456 855 or info @ atms . com . au . Documents supporting membership and CPE may also be submitted online through the membership portal on www . atms . com . au .
The ATMS member portal has been upgraded to allow easy upload of the key membership documentation : annual Professional Indemnity renewals , renewed first aid certificates and clear and concise member entry for all CPE activities . The CPE portal allows line by line user entry of all member CPE activities with a visual tally of total CPE points . For those members selected in the ATMS CPE audit , the online portal is also available to provide evidence of each CPE activity to substantiate audit compliance .
We look forward to working with and supporting members throughout the 2022-2023 membership year .
Charles Wurf CEO
6 | vol29 | no1 | JATMS