GP Network News, Issue 12 Number 31

Reminder to Renew AHPRA Registration by 30 September 2012

The AMA reminds all members to renew their medical registration by 30 September 2012.

AHPRA is encouraging registrants to renew online at www.ahpra.gov.au. To do this you will need to know your User ID and your password. If you have misplaced your User ID and password, contact AHPRA on 1300 419 495. Please note that your User ID is different to your registration number that appears on the National Register.

If you have not yet renewed your registration, you would have received electronic or hardcopy reminders from AHPRA. If you have not received any reminders to renew or are unsure, please check the National Register to make sure your details are up to date or contact AHPRA on 1300 419 495.

There are four things you can do to prepare for your renewal:

• CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION EXPIRY DATE: You can check the online National Register at www.medicalboard.gov.au to confirm when your registration is due to expire and check your details.
• UPDATE AHPRA WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS YOUR CONTACT DETAILS: Make sure your contact details, including your email address, are correct and current. This will allow AHPRA to send you email renewal reminders and to contact you if necessary. If you have your User ID, go online at www.ahpra.gov.au, click online services and follow the prompts to update your contact details. If you do not have your User ID, complete an online enquiry form, selecting ‘User ID’ as the category of enquiry or by calling 1300 419 495.
• WATCH FOR THE REMINDER TO RENEW: A reminder to renew registration will be sent to each practitioner up to eight weeks before registration expires. Set your email account to receive communications from AHPRA and the Medical Board to avoid misdirection to an account junk box.
• RENEW ONLINE, ON TIME: The quickest and easiest way to renew your registration is online. Make sure you renew on time because under the National Law there is no option for AHPRA or the Medical Board to renew your registration after it has lapsed without a new application.

Leaving renewal to the last minute may have serious consequences for your practice.

• Should you fail to lodge your application to renew by 30 September, there is a late payment period during the month of October.
• If you lodge your application to renew during the late payment period ending 31 October, you will pay a late fee of $170 in addition to the renewal fee of $680.
• If you fail to lodge your application to renew your registration during the late payment period, your registration will automatically lapse from 1 November.
• Once your registration has lapsed, you will have until 30 November to apply to AHPRA for a fast-track application for re-registration at the cost of $340, in addition to the registration fee of $680. If you apply through the fast track process AHPRA processes most applications within 48 hours of receiving a completed application. Applications that include adverse declarations can take longer.
• If you fail to re-register through the fast-track process by 30 November you will have to apply for new registration and only pay the registration fee of $680. AHPRA will process your application as a new registrant within the usual timeframe of up to 90 days.
• Should your registration lapse, you will not be able to practice until your registration application has been granted.

Comprehensive Plan Needed to Attract Doctors to Live and Work in the Bush for the Long Term

The AMA welcomes the release this week of the research, Getting Doctors into the Bush: GPs Preferences for Rural Location, which investigated the types of incentives and compensation needed to entice GPs to shift to rural locations.

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said that the research highlights the need for a robust set of incentives – a comprehensive plan, such as the AMA has to attract doctors and medical students to live and work in rural and regional Australia.

The AMA Position Statement on Regional/Rural Workforce Initiatives 2012 identifies possible solutions to help attract and retain more doctors in regional and rural areas.

 The AMA Plan urges the Government to:

•  provide a dedicated and quality training pathway with the right skill mix to ensure GPs are adequately trained to work in rural areas;
•  provide a realistic and sustainable work environment with flexibility, including locum relief;
•  provide family support that includes spousal opportunities/employment, educational opportunities for children’s education, subsidy for housing/relocation and/or tax relief;
•  provide financial incentives including rural loadings to ensure competitive remuneration; and
•  provide a working environment that would allow quality training and supervision.

The AMA, concerned about the Australian Standard Geographical Classification – Remoteness Areas (ASGC-RA) and its application to determine the distribution of financial incentives, has also recommended a proper review.

Click here for full press release.

Medical Care – An Integral Part Of Aged Care

The AMA has developed a new Position Statement on Access to Medical Care for Older Australians, which highlights medical care as an integral component of comprehensive quality aged care.

Dr Hambleton, said today that the AMA has for many years promoted the importance of access to medical care for older Australians but successive Governments have failed to elevate medical care as a priority in their aged care policies.

Dr Hambleton said that the Government’s recent Living Longer Living Better aged care package failed to give any prominence to medical care. The aged care sector must be able to provide the level and quality of medical, nursing and allied health services required to meet the needs of the ageing population. Without appropriate policy and funding measures, there is a very real risk that older Australians will not be able to get the medical care they need when they need it. The Government must take a serious look at measures to ensure that older Australians continue to have access to medical care in their twilight years.

 “The AMA Position Statement sets out the measures that the Government should put in place now to allow our ageing population to secure affordable medical care into the future,” Dr Hambleton said.

 “Medicare rebates for medical services provided in residential aged care facilities must be increased to reflect the complexity of care and the significant amount of additional, but clinically relevant, non face-to-face time with the patient that goes into overseeing their care.”

The AMA Position Statement on Access to Medical Care for Older Australians is available here.

View the full press release here.

Aged Care Medical Workforce is Ageing – AMA Survey

 An AMA survey of medical professionals working in the aged care sector has found that the aged care medical workforce is ageing and that more than 15 per cent are intending to reduce their aged care visits over the next two years.

 The survey of general practitioners, consultant physicians, geriatricians, emergency physicians, psychiatrists, and palliative medicine specialists was conducted in July 2012 and received 845 responses.

 Dr Hambleton, said today that the survey shows clearly that the older medical workforce is providing the majority of medical services to older Australians in residential aged care.

 “Our survey shows that the medical workforce in aged care is ageing and individuals are starting to cut back their visits, and that younger health professionals are not moving in to fill the gap.

 “Current aged care policies ignore medical workforce issues and medical workforce planning.

 “This survey shows that governments and aged care advocates must urgently embrace policies to build and support medical care in aged care. If not, older Australians who lack mobility and cannot travel to the surgery are going to have less and less access to quality medical care in coming years,” Dr Hambleton said.

 Click here for the full press release and the key findings of the 2012 AMA aged care survey.

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