The Information Bulletins below are created to keep our members up-to-date with events and projects relating to General Practice.  The Information Bulletins are an Adobe Reader (pdf) file. Please note that attachment are highlighted in green please click to open.

Copies of Faxouts to Practices and Practice Staff are also included in the table below.

Wheatbelt GP Network - Information Bulletins & Faxouts
Immunisation Reminder from WA Department of Health	The following children have different immunisation requirements.  When you identify any of the following at risk children, consult the 9th Edition Immunisation Handbook to find out how you can help protect them through vaccination. Children with special requirements: • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - page 70 • Previous serious adverse event following immunisation AEFI - page 84 • Born preterm - page 89 • Impaired immunity due to disease treatment - page 90 • Undergoing cancer Treatment - page 92 • Solid organ transplant recipients - page 94 • Post haematopoietic stem cell transplantion (HSCT) - page 97 • Infected with HIV - page 99 • Functional or anatomical asplenia - page 100 • Autoimmune diseases - page 101 • Recent recipients of normal human immunoglobulin - page 102 • Following receipt of other blood products including blood transfusions - page 102 • Bleeding disorders - page 104 • Immigrants to Australia - page 108 Vince Rettura Senior Policy and Planning Officer Education and Training - Immunisation Communicable Disease Control Directorate
Immunisation Changes   Oral Rota Teq Schedule	Oral RotaTeq Vaccine has been added to the Routine Childhood Immunisation Schedule 1st May 2009.      • Infants must commence the course by 12 weeks of age      • There is no catch-up component to the program      • The course consists of three doses of the vaccine, given with other scheduled vaccines at two, four and six months of age. RotaTeq can be safely given with all other childhood vaccines and does not interfere with the immune response to other vaccines Premature babies can be safely vaccinated according to birth age.
Quick Reference Guides Logging onto HPOS with PKI individual Certificates Accessing ACIR via HPOS	Changes to Medicare Australia's Online Services From April 2009, health professionals can access Medicare Australia's online services through a single entry point. The new Health Proffessional Online Services (HPOS) website will make it easier for health proffessionals to work with Medicare. Visit www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/providers and click on the HPOS link.     The Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) secure site can be accessed from the HPOS logon page using your existing ACIR logon (authentication file name and password). A quick reference guide is located to the right. If you would like further information call  1800 700 199  1800 700 199 and select option 5.
eHealth Guidelines Practice Application Form GP Application Form Links Overview Medicare	eHealth PIP Incentive The PIP eHealth Incentive was announced as part of the 2008-09 Budget, and will commence from August 2009.  The incentive aims to encourage use of electronic health systems in PIP practices.  The PIP eHealth Incentive will replace the existing PIP IM/IT Incentive and the PIP Electronic Decision Support Incentive, which commenced in August 2008. The e-Health Incentive would be incorporated into the PIP payments with a payment level of $6.50 per Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE).  Payments will be capped at $12,500 per practice per quarter, up to a maximum of $50,000 per year.  This project is based around 3 IMIT aspects including secure messaging system and availablity of online resources.  These will be achieved through the implementation of MMEx. Contact Rachel on  (08) 9621 1530  (08) 9621 1530 or email rachel@wheatbelt.com.au for more information installing MMEx at your surgery.
WA Vaccination Schedule 1 May 2009	Commencement of the Single Childhood Immunisation Schedule in WA  Access the PDF from Department of Health advising the change from a spilt immunisation schedule  to a single schedule for ALL children in WA, by clicking on the heading above. The major difference between the current spilt schedule and the single schedule is the use of Infanrix-Hexa instead of the combination of PedVax-HIB and Infanrix-Penta amoung indigenous children. Access the WA Vaccination Schedule Commencing 1 February by clicking on the heading to the left.
ACIR National Due and Overdue Rules	Changes to the Maternity Immunisation Allowance and the Child Care Payment System. The National Due and Overdue Rules, used by the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register (ACIR) to determine whether a child is considered up to date with immunisation, will change from 1 January 2009. This change will affect the four year vaccinations for children born from 1 January 2005. The change applies to:  The new split Maternal Immunisation Allowance, and  The child care payment Currently, the rules for this age schedule state that a child is due for vaccinations at four years and are considered overdue at five years. From 1 January 2009, a child will be regarded as being due at four years and overdue at four years and one month. Parents will have an extra 63 days to complete the immunisation schedule and guarantee their child care payments.
Link to Department of Child Protection Services Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse	Mandatory Reporting of Child Sexual Abuse New laws require health professionals to report when they have a reasonable belief that sexual abuse of a child has occurred or is occurring.  The legislation has been passed by Parliament and will be enacted on 1 January 2009. All doctors, nurses and midwives must comply with the Department for Child Protection guidelines.  However, anyone who is concerned that a child is suffering any form of abuse or neglect, should report this to the Department for Child Protection, through a local District Office.