e-Mental Health: A Guide for GPs

e-Mental Health: A Guide for GPs

eHealth General Practice Mental health

The term e-mental health refers to the use of the internet and related technologies to deliver mental health information, services and care. e-Mental health interventions are effective for use in the management of mild to moderate depression and anxiety, and can be disseminated in the primary care setting. The RACGP has developed e-Mental health: A guide for GPs to assist you in using e-mental health interventions with patients when it is safe to do so.

The Guide is designed to provide an introduction to the field of e-mental health, direct you to key online resources for you and your patients, and help you to decide how to use e-mental health in your practice.

GP understanding of hospital discharge abbreviations

GP understanding of hospital discharge abbreviations

Doctors General Practice Hospitals Medication errors

A study recently published in the Medical Journal of Australia revealed that abbreviations in hospital discharge letters are not well understood by the receiving GPs. General practitioner understanding of abbreviations used in hospital discharge letters describes an audit which was made of abbreviations used at Nepean Hospital in Sydney in December 2012.  Twenty common and clinically important abbreviations were identified and sent in a questionnaire to 240 GPs from the local area.  The abbreviations were used in context, but still no individual abbreviation was correctly interpreted by all GPs.  Six of the abbreviations were misinterpreted by over 25% of the GPs.

 

The authors of the study concluded that these results have potential to adversely affect patient care in the transition from hospital to community care. 

Mark Chemali, Emily J Hibbert, Adrian Sheen, Mark Chemali, Emily J Hibbert and Adrian Sheen  Med J Aust 2015; 203 (3): 147.  doi: 10.5694/mja15.00224

The Red Book

The Red Book

General Practice Practice guidelines

The RACGP has launched the Guidelines for preventive activities in general practice (red book) in a user friendly and interactive format. The red Book is a synthesis of evidence-based guidelines from  Australian and international sources and provides recommendations for everyday use in general practice. 

Access all areas: new solutions for GP shortages in rural Australia

Access all areas: new solutions for GP shortages in rural Australia

General Practice Pharmacy Rural health

A new report titled Access all areas: new solutions for GP shortages in rural Australia written by Stephen Duckett and Peter Breadon has just been released by the Grattan Institute. Access All Areas, tells a mixed story about Australians' access to general practitioners (GPs). The report looks at how an investment of around $30 million a year would go a long way to solving Australia's worst shortages. The funds would support a greater role for pharmacists, especially in providing repeat prescriptions and vaccinations, and the introduction of a new health worker, the physician assistant, to expand care in remote areas.