Message from the Executive OfficerIt’s clear that 2014 will continue to deliver changes to primary healthcare at both the State and National level.

With less than a week before the Federal Budget, we already have rumors of the introduction of a Medicare co-payment, as well as potentially major changes to eHealth and Medicare Locals. All of these are likely to have significant impact on general practice and primary healthcare in general.

But while there are always unknowns in the landscape of general practice, there are definitely constants in the way we run our businesses.

Here at General Practice SA, recent client conversations confirm that in spite of big picture changes, it’s often day-to-day issues that concern us. Big questions from clients lately have included:

• What obligations do small businesses have when it comes to recent changes to the Privacy Act? Changes to the Act include big penalties for serious breaches – up to $340,000 for individuals and up to $1.7m for corporations.

• What are the new Australian Privacy Principles, and do we need to change anything about the way we collect, store and use personal information or email? Did you know that Tiger Airways was

firstcontactmay2014

Suite 4, 66 Glen Osmond Rd, Parkside, 5063Ph: 08 8271 8988 | www.generalpracticesa.org.au

intuitive health industry business solutions

recently fined $110K for having a faulty unsubscribe facility, as was Cellarmaster for not obtaining proper consent for e-mail use?

While many of you are familiar with hearing from General Practice SA about the Health Provider Registry during our annual validations, many of our members have reported being ‘cold-called’ for specific practice and provider information.

Remember that you always have the right to ask why information is being collected, and who will have access to it.

While we all do our best to have comprehensive client confidentiality measures in place, it’s also important that you know your own business privacy rights and obligations.

Privacy and eHealth are just two of the topics to be discussed at this month’s Healthcare Horizons, all under the umbrella of ‘disruptive innovation’.

I hope to see you there - visit our website for bios on all our panel members, and consider joining our LinkedIn group (General Practice SA) for pre-event updates.

Mark Endacott, Executive OfficerGeneral Practice SA

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Q:What have disruptive innovation, eHealth, privacy and entrepreneurship got to do with future business success?

A:Find out from our panel of experts during a lively

panel discussion at this year’s Healthcare Horizons event.

Emma BeamesDirector

EmmaBeames

Ken SamanCEO

Personify Care

Jamie DruittFounder: TalkLife

Tuesday | May 20 |6pm - 9pmThe Science Exchange | Adelaide

Registration fee $60.50Up to five free tickets for members

Book now via www.eventbrite.com.auEnquiries - events@generalpracticesa.org.au

Emma HossackCEO Extensia

& EDOCX

Dr Chris BollenGP, Director BMP Health Consulting

Register online now for a fantastic event, in a brilliant venue. Registration fee includes great food and drink, excellent networking opportunities and a stimulating

panel discussion.

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Suite 4, 66 Glen Osmond Rd, Parkside, 5063Ph: 08 8271 8988 | www.generalpracticesa.org.au

intuitive health industry business solutions

You spoke. We listened. We received a huge range of suggestions and requests during last year’s ‘Provider Consultation’ sessions. Thanks to everyone who participated and gave us valuable feedback on what general practice and health professionals need. We’ve already acted on a number of your suggestions (see below) and we’ve got more in the pipeline.

Members (and others) from regional and remote areas highlighted to us the challenge of finding two key business support offerings:

1. Suitable, well set-up office space to use on an ad hoc basis when in Adelaide

2. Reasonably priced IT training facilities

In response, we’re pretty excited to offer two great options

1. Desk to Go

We’re happy to offer a fully-serviced office space within our CBD fringe building. Complete with desktop, phone, free wi-fi, kitchen and reception facilities, Desk to Go offers a great occasional solution for when you’re travelling.

Desk to Go is free for members (frequency limits apply) Non-member pricing available upon request.

2. Training Lab

Bookings and feedback have been impressive since we first made the Lab available a few months ago, and we’d like to keep spreading the word. Features include:

• Dedicated support for up to eight students and two trainers

• Operating systems including Windows 7 Professional, MS Office Pro and a wide range of clinical systems including Medical Director, Best Practice, ZedMed, Mastercare and more

• Support for a wide range of CBT courses (where necessary, software licensing is the responsibility of the hiree)

• CBD fringe location easily accessible by public transport

• Flexible catering options available (both on and off-site)

What ELSE could we do for you? To find out, we’ll be holding more Provider Consultations across South Australia over the next couple of months.

We’d love to come to you and have a chat about ways we can support your business - just tell us when and where.

For more information and bookings on business support services or to suggest a local consultation, call 08 8271 8988, or email info@generalpracticesa.org.au

Are you LinkedIn? LinkedIn is a business oriented social networking service that allows you to joingroups and stay in touch with the people and topics that interest you. General Practice SA has an active and engaged LinkedIn group that regularly discusses ideas and opportunities relating to the business of general practice. Simply visit http://www.linkedin.com

Starting early this April, General Practice SA began active management of an important Return to Work project on behalf of WorkCover SA.

The Network Links project focuses on early intervention and support for injured workers who may be at risk of psychological distress as a result of a workplace injury.

While many general practitioners and allied health providers already do an excellent job of linking services, this project focuses on ensuring injured workers are connected to appropriate psychological support within the first four weeks of injury presentation – far sooner than currently occurs.

With a focus on early service provision, the aim is to have workers return to work at an early stage while maintaining necessary ongoing physical and/or psychological support.

There are currently around 15 GPs and allied health providers participating in the program, and we’re well on track to achieve around 100 criteria appropriate project participants.

Our successful recruitment program for the project results from our ability to invite health professionals to participate using our Registry Select targeted communication campaign platform.

By contacting providers who had already nominated a specific interest in government return to work programs in their Registry Select profile, we were able to quickly and efficiently connect the right professionals with the project.

If you’re interested in finding out more about the Network Links Project, or our Registry Select platform, simply visit our website or contact us via returntowork@generalpracticesa.org.au

Network Links Project uses targeted approach for successful trial recruitment

General Practice SA is completely independent, non-government, and

not-for-profit. Our member benefits are real.

Visit our website to see for yourself.