President and CEO update - December 2023
In a busy turn of events to wrap up the year, AMA Queensland advocacy has seen further payoffs for members and the community with government support on vaping, regional health workforce and flu jabs.
Membership Renewal – A message from President Dr Maria Boulton
AMA Queensland has achieved so much for our members and the community this year. It's time to renew your membership so we can continue working for you in 2024.
The biggest honour and privilege of being elected AMA Queensland President is working for you, our members.
It is only through you that we hear about important issues and can both raise the alarm and advocate for solutions that benefit our profession and patients.
We know many members bravely do this even when they fear for their jobs.
This was seen again this year with GP specialist members who contacted us about payroll tax and hospital specialist members who raised the alarm about maternity services and ambulance ramping.
We are proud to be able to give voice to your concerns when you can’t.
Our work also would not be possible without the help of our Board, Council, Committees and Working Groups.
They tirelessly represent your interests on top of delivering best practice care to their patients and we thank them for their dedication.
This year we have advocated on many issues of concern to members in meetings and correspondence with Queensland Health, the State and Australian Governments, other health stakeholders and in the media.
We can only continue to do this work with your support and we urge you to rejoin us next year.
Renew your membership for 2024
The Premier’s resignation
In breaking news on Sunday 10 December, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced her resignation.
This is most certainly a time to reflect on her achievements and efforts during the challenge that was the pandemic, and we thank her for her nine years of service to Queensland.
Premier Palaszczuk implemented most of the recommendations of the AMA Queensland Ramping Roundtable, and we will continue to work with the newly appointed Premier Steven Miles to see it finished.
A change in leadership is a great opportunity for a refreshed government to make further positive and tangible changes for our communities.
Childhood checks prior to vaccination
AMA Queensland has continued to advocate for community health and, specifically, preventative healthcare for children.
After the state government expanded regulations to allow pharmacists to vaccinate all children two years and over – well beyond that currently permitted in any other jurisdiction in Australia -- we have warned of the health risks and publicly opposed the unjustified decision.
Childhood immunisation appointments are more than just a vaccine appointment, they are a vital opportunity to track a child’s developmental growth and general health, assess for any delays in hearing or speech, and check in with the parents.
Allowing pharmacists to provide such vaccinations could lead to missed diagnoses and lost opportunities for early identification of post-natal depression and domestic and family violence.
We support other changes to allow pharmacists to deliver vaccinations in general practice and aged care facilities, as these are among the safest settings for pharmacists to use their full training in vaccine administration.
However, we cannot support what goes so clearly against the role of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) which is the rightful body for determining what vaccines can be safely administered without prescription from a doctor – not the Queensland Government.
Incentivising regional health workforce
After actively calling for the state government to provide urgent assistance to our struggling regional health workforce, we are exceptionally pleased to have seen Minister Fentiman look and act on the evidence.
Through our advocacy the government has extended the $70,000 incentive to interstate and overseas doctors and healthcare workers to relocate to regional Queensland to GPs and other private specialists.
We commend the government for taking action and hope this scheme will help address workforce shortages and maldistribution across the state.
Our current healthcare workers are also dedicated and amazing at what they do and must be likewise recognised.
We will seek to ensure that they are similarly supported alongside overseas and interstate recruits.
Free flu jabs
We applaud Health Minister Shannon Fentiman for her proactive announcement that flu jabs will be free for all Queenslanders in the 2024 influenza season.
Ensuring up to date vaccinations is crucial to prevent people getting seriously ill or dying.
We understand that the cost of living pressures are very real, and can put people off getting the vaccine. We have seen this already with the number of this year’s influenza cases reaching nearly three times the five-year average.
Ensuring the flu vaccine is free from the get go, rather than halfway through flu season, is just one way we can ensure preventative healthcare for our community.
It will also make it much easier for practices to plan ahead to delivery this vital service.
We will continue to advocate for the influenza vaccine to be made free for all Australians and call on all other state and territory governments to follow Queensland’s lead.
Payroll Tax
AMA Queensland continued to advocate hard for a payroll tax exemption for all private medical practices and better clarity of existing exemptions requirements for all medical businesses.
The Queensland Revenue Office (QRO) released an updated public ruling that provided much-needed assurance for all medical businesses on steps they can take to ensure they are not burdened with this crippling tax.
We also encouraged all eligible members to register for the Queensland Revenue Office’s general practice payroll tax amnesty.
Participating practices now have until mid-2025 to implement the necessary business structure changes set out in the QRO’s ruling.
Glucose monitor access
In an article published by the DVA, it is now easier to access Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for patients with diabetes.
From 1 November 2023, requests for CGMs have been able to be prescribed by a client’s GP, diabetes educator, diabetes clinic, Registered Nurse, and specialists.
It is now easier to access Continuous Glucose Monitors for your patients with diabetes
Resident Hospital Health Check
Results from our annual Resident Hospital Health Check with ASMOFQ found unsatisfactory reports from large proportions of survey respondents.
More than 30 per cent felt their safety had been compromised at work due to verbal or physical intimidation or threats from patients or other staff, with over 50 per cent expressing fatigue concerns.
Patients deserve our best, and chronic understaffing means fatigue and overwork is inevitable, affecting our ability to make good judgements and perform to the best of our ability.
AMA Queensland will continue to work with the HHSs to fight for the prioritisation of junior doctors’ wellbeing, workload and training.
Member Networking event
Early last month, AMA Queensland gathered at Audi Brisbane for a member networking event, toasting the end of another busy year.
AMA President Professor Steve Robson discussed relevant issues the federal body is working on and awarded AMA Doctor in Training of the Year to Dr Natasha Abeysekera and the AMA Indigenous Medical Scholarship to Torres Strait Islander man T'Kido Titasey.
We also updated the audience on payroll tax, regional healthcare workforce issues, maternity care, and pharmacy prescribing, all while celebrating the year that was.
AMA Queensland Foundation Charity Gala
Also last month, we gathered with the AMA Queensland foundation to raise much needed funds for homelessness charity Beddown.
Beddown is an innovative group who turn unused public spaces into safe places for people to sleep at night.
With the cost of living crisis spiralling, and homelessness rates in Queensland rising at almost three times the national rate, it is more important than ever that we support the most vulnerable members of our community.
If you weren't able to attend the AMA Queensland Foundation Charity Gala, but would still like to donate, please do so here.
Vaping crackdown
After advocating for the government to respond to the rise of vaping among children and adolescents, we endorsed their decision to crackdown on the importation of vapes from 2024.
While some groups argue that vaping can be an option to ease people off cigarette addiction, it is most certainly the last resort.
GPs working to help people who want to quit smoking or vaping have many more evidence-based ways to help patients quit.
In addition to protecting children, this is another reason why vaping products must not be accessible in non-medical settings.
We hope to see the tighter regulations reduce the prominence of vapes among young people and the risk of creating the next generation of vapers and smokers.
AMA Queensland Foundation Bursaries
In another recent effort from the AMA Queensland Foundation, we four GP Registrars and/or Fellows receive $20,000 training and research bursaries in honour of the legacy of General Practice Training Queensland (GPTQ).
Drs Sarah Andela, Joshua Faint, Nicholas Snels, and Kellie West are the inaugural recipients of the AMA Queensland Foundation GPTQ Training and Research Bursary.
Membership Milestones
On 1 December 2023 we recognised and celebrated our dedicated doctors who have been members for decades over a special breakfast.
As AMA Queensland is a member association, our members are, and will always be, our most precious resource. We want to thank you all again for your support.
Doctor shopping
Our members have raised concerns that QScript has not been adequately detecting patients who seek multiple/denied medications from different practitioners.
Practitioners have suggested that this issue may be arising because QScript is not nuanced enough to recognise potential slight discrepancies between identifying information and Medicare details.
QScript has since provided additional advice on this issue and steps practitioners can take to ensure patients are not being prescribed medications in breach of the requirements, and we encourage all practitioners to consider and act on this advice.
