Admin will be the death of VAD Prominent GP fined
Dr
$ 12,000 and reprimanded for VAD paperwork error
What a great way to encourage doctors
to provide this service for their patients !
Professor John Ziegler Immunology and allergy specialist ,
Sydney , NSW
This is insane .
I have been involved with the voluntary assisted dying ( VAD ) process twice , and it is almost incomprehensibly bureaucratic and legalistic , where security trumps logic and compassion .
After this tribunal case involving Dr Nick Carr , I will not be doing any more VAD work because I feel there is too great a risk of me making a mistake inadvertently on a form .
Form completion is not my strong point .
I feel sorry for my patients as VAD is profoundly helpful , and for my two patients who I have supported , I feel proud to have been involved in helping them to an end they wanted .
Dr Tamsin Franklin GP , Melbourne , Vic
Perhaps I ’ m wrong , but what decent medical doctor when faced with a patient with such incredible and incurable pain would want to say , “ Sorry , mate , you ’ ve only got one witness here to sign the form . You ’ ll have to come back when you can muster up another .”
Dr Neville Steer GP , Melbourne , Vic
The patient wanted to die , two witnesses will attest , no-one was hurt and all were satisfied with the outcome .
But the regulators felt the need to crucify another doctor .
Dr Annette Munday GP , Sydney , NSW
Labouring under a risky delusion Obstetrics without
MO insurance : How independent midwives get away with it
I have resuscitated a flat newborn while the obstetrician has dealt with the mother ’ s catastrophic postpartum haemorrhage .
I have always wondered what a doctor or midwife working alone would do at someone ’ s home when two lives were in danger simultaneously .
|
I have concluded that birth is a resuscitation procedure for mother and baby until proven otherwise .
If all goes well , then you can leave the hospital a few hours later and be at home .
Seventy-seven years of fulltime care for birth-related mental disability is a very , very long time .
Dr Alison Hunt Radiologist , Sydney , NSW
Dr Hunt , that is a brilliant comment that well illustrates the materiality of the risk .
I doubt a life of full-time care is part of most parents ’ birth plan .
Dr Nicholas Heard Anaesthetist , Brisbane , Qld
Dr Craig Lilienthal notes : “ The government ’ s exemption for private midwives to have indemnity insurance is necessary because the pool of midwives has been unable to obtain this sort of insurance — their craft group is small , and the potential cost to insurers is disproportionately large .” Hmmm . So what if non-specialist psychiatry doctors decided to see patients privately ?
The demand is high — I suspect much higher than the demand for homebirth midwives .
This pool of practitioners would likely have a small craft group , and the potential cost to insurers would be disproportionately large .
So , would the Federal Government give an exemption in this situation ?
Dr Lynette Foster GP , Fraser Coast , Qld
Many years ago , I worked for NSW Health , and we were asked by the state coroner to implement his recommendations after a baby died following a water homebirth in the wealthy Eastern Suburbs of Sydney .
A homebirth policy was
|
developed , which still exists today .
The important point was that birthing centres were set up in hospitals .
They look like a family home , where the mother can walk around and bathe and have members of her family with her .
No forceps are allowed , and any birthing style — including squatting water birth — is allowed for low-risk women as an alternative to homebirth . Minimal pain relief is offered . Of the women identified as low risk who enter the birthing centres for delivery , 30 % are transferred to the labour ward for complications requiring intervention .
But the distance between the birthing centres and the labour ward is minimal .
Dr Mary Kearney GP , Sydney , NSW
GP training for hep B not ‘ set and forget ’ Let all GPs prescribe
Dr hep B antivirals without extra training : RACGP
I am a GP hepatitis B prescriber , and it is not ‘ set and forget ’ after you complete the training , as claimed by Professor Mark Morgan .
Credentialing as a hepatitis B s100 prescriber is followed by ongoing hepatitis B CPD requirements .
I agree that we must avoid creating barriers for hepatitis B management in primary care , but I am not sure that completely removing the 11 hours of training requirements is the right way to go .
Managing hepatitis B can be complex .
Dr Vincent Cornelisse Sexual health specialist , Sydney , NSW
|
A shining example of self-sacrifice Kidnapped surgeon says
6 he was close to death from scurvy
And we whinge about the impact of low remuneration ?
I am glad I am not at risk of being kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists in Australian general practice !
Huge respect for Dr Ken Elliott and his wife , Jocelyn , for their self-sacrificial lifestyle and love for the locals of Burkina Faso .
Thanks to all those doctors who serve in areas of need despite the risk to themselves and their families . May their example encourage us all .
Dr Elissa Armitage GP , Melbourne , Vic
Text message monopoly a dodgy deal ? Cost of e-script texts
Dr covered under $ 100 million govt contract
What is missing from this article is that the Department of Health and Aged Care gave a virtual monopoly to the Pharmacy Guild of Australia ’ s Fred IT , which owns eRx .
As a result , it will only fund PBS prescriptions through eRx .
The alternative is MediSecure : it has more features but has been cast aside . This is a travesty .
Dr John Deery GP , Canberra , ACT
It is disgraceful ! MediSecure is a far superior service .
Now , eRx has no incentive to improve as there is no competition .
Kath O ’ Brien Nurse , Mackay , Qld
|
It is appalling . We signed up with MediSecure initially , but we were later told it was not the preferred platform . I never found out why but accepted eRx instead .
Was there a tender process , or was this a deal done behind the scenes with Pharmacy Guild of Australia ?
Dr Aline Smith GP , Sydney , NSW
College not speaking with one voice MO
Why I want every GP to vote yes to the Voice
Dr Colin Hughes writes : “ I am proud that my college , the RACGP , after careful consultation with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health faculty , has come out in favour of the Voice .”
It is a shame there was no similar “ careful consultation ” with all the RACGP membership before stating a public position .
I assume there was a secret vote or perhaps just a consensus reached by the college board , with zero transparency .
On current polling , it is likely that at least half of the membership will not agree with the ‘ yes ’ position promulgated by the board .
It is a similar approach to that taken by corporate Australia without any consultation with their shareholders , such as Qantas , BHP and many others .
Dr Andrew Jackson GP , Launceston , Tas
Thank you for the insightful article . I will be voting yes to the Voice . The problem is that a lot of people do not understand what it means .
Dr Katharine Moffatt GP , Melbourne , Vic
From my discussions with people , they know what it means .
What they want is information about what comes after a yes vote , and they are not getting answers .
Dr Peta Fairweather Pathologist , Brisbane , Qld
I believe the question should be split in two . The first should be that the constitution recognises First Nations people as the original inhabitants of this land . That would achieve a thumping majority .
The second question about the voice — that looks set to go down — is the fact that Indigenous peoples already have a voice , and that is the same voice as every other citizen : namely , the ballot box .
Until someone can explain to me how the Voice will actually make a difference in closing the gap , I will be voting no .
Dr Peter Meggyesy GP , Melbourne , Vic
|