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In Practice: Member forum on governance

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This week’s In Practice also includes updates to the format of COVID-19 vaccine names and a new antenatal indictor added to the Australian Immunisation Register, as well as menopause medicine shortage updates, and an aged care incentive survey.
 
RACGP member forum on governance: Shaping tomorrow’s college
With the RACGP membership growing and the general practice profession facing more complexities than ever before, the college wants to ensure its governance is fit for purpose and efficient. The RACGP is calling for member input.
 
Incoming RACGP President Dr Michael Wright, outgoing President Dr Nicole Higgins, outgoing Board Chair Dr Lara Roeske, new Board Chair, and CEO Georgina van de Water will host an open discussion on future-proofing the organisation.
 
This session will be held in person at GP24 and streamed online from 3.05–3.50 pm (AWST), Friday 22 November.
 
For those unable to attend live at GP24, the session will be recorded to watch on demand. Questions can be submitted to the panel prior to the session via Qualtrics.
 
Update to COVID-19 vaccine names format
From 16 November, COVID-19 vaccine names will no longer display the manufacturer name within the Australian Immunisation Register (AIR). For example, the ‘Pfizer Comirnaty XBB.1.5’ vaccine will display as ‘Comirnaty XBB.1.5’.
 
This change simplifies the display of COVID-19 vaccines and aligns with how other vaccines are recorded in the AIR. Vaccination providers may notice this change when they are viewing or recording immunisation encounters in their clinical software (integrated with the AIR) or through the AIR site.
 
The AIR vaccine codes for COVID-19 vaccines will remain the same. Further information about AIR vaccine codes and vaccine brand names is available on the Services Australia website.
 
Introduction of an antenatal indicator
From 8 December, a new bespoke antenatal indictor will be added to the AIR. This will allow vaccination providers to report to the AIR if the person is pregnant at the time of vaccine administration.
 
In addition, improvements will be made to the ‘vaccine type’ field to simplify the reporting options available for vaccination providers. This includes removing the ‘Private’ and ‘State funded’ options and replacing with ‘Other’.
 
These enhancements will be implemented in a phased approach:

• 8 December 2024: Software developers will have the ability to build the new antenatal indicator into their clinical software products. Vaccination providers using updated clinical software will have the ability to report the new indicator to the AIR.
• 9 February 2025: Vaccination providers using the AIR site will have the ability to report to the AIR the new indicator and follow options under the ‘vaccine type’ field.
• Between December 2024 and October 2025: Vaccination providers using clinical software with older technology will have the ability to continue to report antenatal information using the ‘vaccine type’ field. This includes ‘NIP/Commonwealth’, ‘antenatal’ and ‘other’.

Vaccination providers wanting to know when these changes will be available in their clinical software are encouraged to speak with their software provider. Any questions can be sent to immunisation.registers@health.gov.au.
 
PBS subsidy arrangements for estradiol transdermal patches
The Therapeutic Goods (Serious Scarcity and Substitutable Medicine) (Estradiol) Instrument (SSSI) 2024 has been registered and is in force until 1 January 2026.
 
The TGA has published a web alert and updated SSSI webpage on the shortage of transdermal HRT patches to provide information to health professionals and patients.
 
The substitution has PBS subsidy arrangements, which can be found on the PBS website. Some substitutable medicines cannot be PBS-subsidised under the SSSI. The estradiol (Estramon Germany) packs of 24 are not included in the estradiol SSSI.
 
Further information about the substitution is available on the PBS medicine shortages webpage.
 
General Practice in Aged Care Incentive evaluation survey
To support the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive (GPACI), the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care has engaged the Nous Group to develop and conduct a survey.
 
The survey results will be used to develop an initial evaluation report which seeks to understand GPs’ and practices’ experiences, challenges, and views on the GPACI to help gauge its impact and identify areas for improvement.
 
Open to GPs and general practices, including Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services/Aboriginal Medical Services and public sector community health/primary care services, the survey can be completed even for those not participating in the GPACI or who are unfamiliar with the incentive. GPs can access the survey here. Practice managers or principal GPs can access the survey here.
 
FPS subsidy
The GPMHSC is offering GPs a $600 reimbursement that covers part of the cost of completing accredited Focussed Psychological Strategies Skills Training (FPS ST).
 
FPS are specific mental healthcare treatment strategies, derived from evidence-based psychological therapies. They include cognitive behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy, psychoeducation and relaxation strategies. GPs skilled in FPS are better equipped to manage and support individuals experiencing difficulties with their mental health.
 
The delivery of FPS by GPs, particularly in rural and remote locations, gives people access to affordable and cost-effective psychological interventions where there’s a shortage or lack of psychologists and psychiatrists.
 
Eligible GPs will be reimbursed $600 once they complete the requirements for FPS ST and register as GP providers of FPS with Services Australia. For more information contact the GPMHSC Secretariat at mentalhealth@racgp.org.au.
 
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aged care incentive Australian Immunisation Register PBS TGA governance In Practice medicine member forum shortages

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