Cardiovascular disease linked with other chronic medical conditions

Roughly half of patients admitted to Australian hospitals with a cardiovascular disease also have multiple chronic medical conditions that require complex treatment, a study suggests.

Changes to Health Professional Online Services (HPOS) – September

In response to the recommendation made by the ‘Independent Review of Health Providers' Access to Medicare Card Numbers’ the following changes will be made to HPOS in September.

My Health Record opt-out period extended

The Australian Government has extended the opt-out period for My Health Record by an extra month to 15 November 2018.

Help your patients know when to claim online

If you claim a Medicare benefit for a patient, remind them they don’t need to submit a claim online to get their benefit.

DVA-funded diabetes memberships available to your DVA patients

Your veteran patients with diabetes can now access DVA-funded memberships to the Diabetes Association in their state or territory.

MedicalDirector: Runner-up on Most Innovative Companies List 2018

Clinical management software provider MedicalDirector has been named the second most innovative company in the Australian Financial Review’s 100 Most Innovative Companies list for 2018, with the company also taking out the top award in the Best Business Model Innovation category for its cloud product, Helix.

My Health Record Media Release for Parents

The Australian Digital Health Agency is encouraging parents to find out more about the benefits of having a My Health Record for their children through their local GP, pharmacy or other healthcare providers they deal with as well as through the website www.myhealthrecord.gov.au

Reforms to Medicare compliance– firmer but fairer?

Law reforms introduced from 1 July 2018 have given Medicare stronger debt recovery powers. The legislation also provides for fairer approaches to compliance, by apportioning responsibility for overpayments between both doctors and their employers or contractors, including public hospitals.

Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said the legislation aims to deal with the “very, very small number of outliers” who don’t comply, at the same time acknowledging “the outstanding degree of integrity” among the medical workforce when the Act was being reviewed by Parliament.

Ultrasound transducers now don't need to be registered

From July 2018, ultrasound providers no longer need to register individual ultrasound transducers on their practices’s equipment list.

Diabetes apps: regulation concerns grow

In an article in the latest Medical Journal of Australia, Melbourne endocrinologists Dr Rahul Barmanray and Dr Esther Briganti say patients should be warned aboiut the potential for insulin dosing errors with glycaemic control smartphone apps.