News aggregator
Public Education Vital in Raising Awareness of Food Allergies
As a supporter of Food Allergy Awareness Week 2012, the AMA is urging enhanced public education programs to raise community awareness of potential food allergies and help people identify food products that may pose a risk to their health and the health of others.
Food Allergy Awareness Week, an initiative of Anaphylaxis Australia, promotes and develops the awareness of food allergy among Australians through education, research and ongoing support.
ANAO Conducting Audit of GP Super Clinics Program
The AMA welcomes advice that the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) last week commenced an official audit of the Government’s troubled GP Super Clinics Program.
The ANAO will assess the effectiveness of the Department of Health and Ageing's (DoHA) administration of the GP Super Clinics Program, which was intended to support improved community access to integrated GP and primary health care services.
Dr Hambleton speech to CEDA on health reform
THE AMA is firmly engaged in the health reform process, and most AMA members are enthusiastic about the vision for shared electronic health records. They know that, with the right system, they can improve the patient healthcare experience. But as things stand with the Government's personally controlled electronic health records scheme, GPs are being asked to provide a new service for free. Doctors need greater support than what is on offer if the PCEHR is going to truly work.
Cuts to Practice Incentive Payments (PIP) penalise GPs and pose public health risks
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that last night’s Budget cuts to Practice Incentive Payments (PIP) to GPs will have a double negative impact on the health system by penalising GPs for not meeting new higher targets for cervical cancer screening and specialised diabetes care and removing incentives for immunisation.
Dr Hambleton said these measures, along with changes to the e-health PIP, have the potential to pose serious public health risks and undermine successful preventive health programs that are providing health benefits to many Australians.
Health budget reflects the economic times - AMA
AMA President Dr Steven Hambleton said tonight that the government had done the right thing by sparing health from broad funding cuts to provide a budget for tough economic times and to fund a budget surplus.
“Health has generally been sheltered from the budget cuts,” Dr Hambleton said.
AMA National Conference 25 May – 27 May 2012
GRAND HYATT HOTEL, MELBOURNE
The AMA National Conference 2012 – celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Federal AMA – will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Melbourne, from 25-27 May.
AMA welcomes further steps towards a National Disability Insurance Scheme
The AMA welcomes the Prime Minister’s announcement that the first stage of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) will commence from July next year.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the AMA has been pushing for a national long-term care scheme for the severely disabled since 2003.
Report highlights critical shortage of training positions for medical graduates
The AMA has warned patient access to medical care could become increasingly difficult unless urgent action is taken to address a looming shortfall of training places for medical graduates.
The AMA says a report released by the nation’s Health Ministers today shows there is a desperate need for Governments to fund extra pre-vocational and specialist training places in order to keep pace with the number of graduates emerging from medical schools.
Government delivers strong package for older Australians - but medical care is lacking
The AMA congratulates the Government on its Living Longer Living Better plan to support older Australians, in particular the measures to assist them to live in their homes for longer, but is disappointed that the issue of access to quality medical care has not been properly addressed.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said that the plan is a strong response to a policy area that has been long neglected, but the Government should have gone the extra step of giving older Australians the comfort of knowing they could get access to their doctors at a time of life when they most need them.
AMA calls for improved support and supervision for IMG doctors
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, has written to Health Minister, Tanya Plibersek, urging the Government to fund extra specialised support and supervision for international medical graduate (IMG) doctors, especially those working in rural and regional Australia.
The AMA recommends that new funding should be allocated to General Practice Education and Training (GPET), an organisation with the capacity and infrastructure to provide this additional support for IMG doctors working in general practice.
Medical board should fund doctors' health services
In a submission to the Medical Board of Australia (MBA), the AMA is calling on the Board to fund better access to doctors' health services across the country.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the AMA’s submission to the MBA highlights the evidence that doctors are at greater risk of mental illness and stress-related problems and are more susceptible to substance abuse than the general population.
AMA plan to bolster the rural medical workforce
The AMA today released the AMA Position Statement on Regional/Rural Workforce Initiatives 2012, which sets out a practical achievable plan to attract doctors and medical students to live and work in rural and regional Australia.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said that the AMA has for some time identified medical workforce shortage as a major health issue, particularly in regional and rural Australia.
Transcript: Dr Hambleton, ABC radio 'AM'
AMA President Dr Steve Hambleton comments on the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record. He says that the Government has made it clear that they have not allocated any funding in the Medicare schedule to cover this new clinical service.
AMA Position Statements on genetic testing and human cloning
The AMA has updated and split the content of its Position Statement on Human Genetic Issues 1998. Revised 2000. Revised 2002. to produce the AMA Position Statement on Genetic Testing 2012 and the AMA Position Statement on Human Cloning 2012.
The AMA Position Statement on Genetic Testing 2012 is more contemporary and reflects current issues relevant to genetic testing.
AMA welcomes investment in specialist medical training
The AMA welcomes Health Minister Tanya Plibersek’s announcement that all training positions in the federally-funded Specialist Training Program have been fully subscribed.
This comes on top of February’s announcement that all 1000 first year GP training places had been filled.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that, while most specialist training takes place in the public hospital system, the Commonwealth had progressively increased funding to support more specialist training in non-traditional settings, including private hospitals.
AMA sets its own items for managing a shared health summary for the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR)
The AMA has introduced its own items for preparing and managing a shared health summary for the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR).
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the Government had not created new items for doctors’ time and work with patients on the PCEHR and had not allocated any new funding in the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) to cover this new clinical service to be provided by doctors.
Creating a better learning environment for medical trainees
AMA Position Statement on Supervision and Assessment of Hospital Based Postgraduate Medical Trainees 2012
The AMA today released its Position Statement on Supervision and Assessment of Hospital Based Postgraduate Medical Trainees (2012).
AMA Vice President, Professor Geoffrey Dobb, said today that achieving high quality supervision and assessment of trainees must be a top priority for the Australian health system.
Draft Guide to using the PCEHR
The AMA has produced a draft guide for doctors on how to use the personally controlled electronic health record (PCEHR), which is due to commence implementation from 1 July 2012.
The draft guide has been circulated for feedback from doctors and is available on the AMA website for professional and public comment prior to final publication.
AMA calls for new Inquiry into the sexualisation of children in advertising
The AMA is calling for a new Inquiry into the premature sexualisation of children in marketing and advertising.
AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that self-regulation by the advertising industry is clearly not working.
AMA takes strong stance on non-medical prescribing
In response to a growing trend to grant prescribing rights to more non-medical health professionals, the AMA has adopted a formal position rejecting all forms of non-medical practitioner prescribing, with the exception of dentists.
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