Letters
TWEET OF THE WEEK
GP advertising a fraught issue
Letters
Your Views
EDITOR There is so much medical advertising in WA — in the newspapers , at the cinemas , even on billboards (‘ Promoting your practice ’, Smart Practice , 4 August ). Some GP practices tout for patients as they go into pathology or radiology from other practices . I don ’ t see AHPRA doing anything much about it .
Dr Mary Cadden GP , Perth , WA
EDITOR This is very fraught area when you consider we are wearing two hats .
As medical practitioners , we are bound by strict regulations to protect patient safety . But we are also businesses in competition with each other for patients .
With the increase in the supply of doctors hitting the market in the coming years , there is going to be greater pressure in this area , testing the boundaries . Dr Justin Dooland GP , Adelaide , SA
EDITOR In 1980 , 29 doctors from four adjacent suburbs decided to set up an after-hours service for their patients . We hired an advertising company and appraised them of the medical board ’ s regulations about medical publicity . They were a bit
FROM THE WEB
TWEET OF THE WEEK
“ And * only * seeing complex stuff is really tiring . Having a few “ simple ” consultations is often how you get through a morning clinic .”
— Dr Tim Senior @ timsenior
Follow us at @ australiandr cute and put an advertisement in the local weekly paper with our names in the form of a crossword puzzle with some doctors ’ names being black on white ( which was permissible ) and others being white on black ( which was not ).
The board received a complaint from another after-hours service some 12km distant and with a different catchment area from ours .
We received a long and offensive letter from the chairman of the board detailing the complaint against us and demanding an immediate reply , to which we succinctly complied .
Those were the days when medical
Best feeding
( Don ’ t stigmatise mums for formula feeding : AMA , 1 August ) I agree completely . As the studies suggest , with 96 % of mums starting breastfeeding , this is something most mums want to do , but there are many reasons why it doesn ’ t work in the long term . Families that use formula should be supported to ensure they are not misled by false information from friends and media , and know how to choose and use formula correctly . As a side issue , I think that without the support of several days in a private hospital , breastfeeding might not have worked out for my family ( both children did end up breastfed until almost 12 months ). It is a shame that public patients are discharged quickly with little support in establishing breastfeeding . I wonder if there is any research into breastfeeding rates in public vs private hospital deliveries ?
Chris Hmmm . Some would argue an intervention that bestows great health benefits , such as reduced asthma rates , reduced diabetes and improved immunity , should be promoted vigorously .
Personally , I feel breastfeeding is up there with immunisations in importance to overall child health . If our immunisation rates were at 15 %, then I think we would all be pretty fired up .
Dr Dan
If you don ’ t look ...
( Ignore Gwyneth Paltrow and limit thyroid tests to highrisk patients , RCPA says , 1 August ) In 40 years of general practice , I have found sub-clinical Hashimoto ’ s disease is rampant and I suspect chronic inflammation of the thyroid causes symptoms of fatigue . We have 170 active patients with Hashimoto ’ s noted on their record , 70 of whom are on T4 . I suspect there are many more , but we are pressured not to order thyroid antibodies test routinely . T4 is
boards had difficulty distinguishing between ethics and etiquette . The current regulations on self-promotion seem very liberal and no one , nowadays , seems much concerned about etiquette . Dr Max Kamien GP , Perth , WA
Have your say
All letters should contain the sender ’ s title , address and daytime phone number . Letters should be exclusive , no more than 250 words and may be edited . Letters should be sent to : Fax : ( 02 ) 8484 0800 or email : mail @ australiandoctor . com . au
a very cheap drug and it takes months to get the metabolism back to normal from prolonged hypothyroidism . If you don ’ t look , you don ’ t find .
PeterCStephenson Here we are , trying to fight an obesity epidemic — and they are asking us to not act on one of the most common correctable causes and wait until they become hyperlipidaemic ?
Iliya Englin How can one describe the unforgettable sight of a patient whose hypothyroidism had been undiagnosed for so long that they had gradually developed a life-threatening myxoedema coma — and are then admitted to the ICU ? The symptoms can creep up on a person and present as depression , dementia , etc .
Dr Poo
AHPRA ’ s decision may fuel vexatious actions
EDITOR A patient who made a formal complaint about their psychologist has been refused access to the psychologist ’ s response to AHPRA (‘“ Aggressive ” patient denied access to AHPRA complaint defence ’, 31 July ). The outcome seems fair enough but there is the issue of the imagined being more injurious than the truth .
If I were the psychologist , I would probably have sent a copy of what I had said to AHPRA to the complainant . If it was the absolute truth — and the complainant would know that deep down — it would explain why I could no longer work with them and , hopefully , result in a better understanding of why AHPRA took no action . If I were the patient , I would naturally be wondering what the psychologist had said , and whether their version differed from mine substantially — a reasonable concern , one would think .
In the above case , the complainant is left imagining they were impugned in some way , concerned that the psychologist ’ s version might well be exaggerated and unfair . Thoughts like that can eat away at a person and , before you know it , you have a vexatious stalker on your hands . Dr Peter Bradley GP , Brisbane , Qld
australiandoctor . com . au
Storm in a teacup
( Female surgeons lance journal ’ s sexism , 3 August ) I tend to respect my colleagues , ( male , female , straight , gay , etc ) based on competence , punctuality , attitude and general things looked for in employees / friends . By the time I realised some were not straight , white , middle-aged males , I had already decided whether they were worthy of my respect . The cluttered dust storm raised by equity issues tends to distract from the real issues .
Rural GP
Own up
( Guild gets creative with scheduling , 1 August ) I ’ m a pharmacist working in an opioid dependence program . Hopefully , this latest attempt by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia will be shot down . However , it needs to be acknowledged the medical profession is not much better at managing opioid risk . More than 500,000 Australians used over-the-counter codeine for non-medical use last year but around the same number used prescription opioids .
Tim Griffiths
Australian Doctor team
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