6minutes_18_03_2011.indd

ACCC gets involved in nurse clinic ‘turf war' ■ Gemma Collins had been given an injection at the clinic. The incident coincided with Competition regulators have been forced to step in following claims that GPs are trying to sabotage the nurse practitioners. expansion of a WA-based chain of "The documentation that nurse practitioner clinics. the RACGP has released is The Australian Competition and not accurate." Ms Stewart told Revive Clinic founder Louise Stewart
Consumer Commission (ACCC) 6minutes. "Before they close their says GPs want to see nurse clinics fail
has been in discussion with Revive minds to nurse practitioners I director Louise Stewart after she However, she said she sensed a would urge doctors to educate said there was a strong resistance "real attitude of aggressiveness" to the new clinics in Albany, from some doctors who she feels "We are not very keen about Australind and Bunbury. want to see her clinics fail. these ACCC investigations. We Ms Stewart told 6minutes she Last week it emerged a Perth GP are confident that we can work was approached by the watchdog had billed one of the eight Revive together with GPs ourselves to following recent media reports clinics $47 for a two-minute phone though she was reluctant to get conversation he had with a nurse involved in any investigations. practitioner about his patient who Viral-induced asthma halted by inhaled steroid reliever
■ Michael Woodhead Medical Research in Sydney have the same combination as reliever therapy compared to those who The number of cold-related used a short-acting beta agonist. asthma exacerbations may be The study authors say this is halved if an inhaled corticoster a significant finding, given that and long-acting bronchodilator asthma guidelines currently inhaler is used for relief as well as Published in the European recommend increasing short- maintenance therapy, Australian Respiratory Journal (online 16 acting beta-agonist for symptom research suggests.
March), the study found that the relief, rather than increasing the Using a budesonide-formoterol use of budesonide/formoterol as dose of inhaled steroid.
(Symbicort) inhaler as a reliever maintenance and reliever therapy They say the anti-inflammatory at the first signs of asthma reduced the risk of cold-related effects of corticosteroids may deterioration was associated with exacerbations by 36% compared be crucial during a rhinovirus a 52% reduction in cold-related to all other regimens. However, in infection, whereas short-acting asthma exacerbation compared to asthma patients using budesonide bronchodilators may have pro- use of a short-acting beta-agonist and formoterol as maintenance (SABA) as a reliever, researchers therapy, the rate of exacerbations from the Woolcock Institute of was halved in those who used ■ Michael Woodhead with occluding earwax. Extrapolating these figures, they Encouraging patients with earwax occluding earwax, of whom half say that encouraging the initial use to self treat with bulb syringes were instructed to use a bulb of bulb syringes could potentially could potentially avoid millions of syringe rather than visit a GP if reduce the number of GP clinic ear GP consultations, a study suggests.
ear drops did not work. There was irrigations by millions.
Removal of earwax represents a a 79% higher consultation rate "Such a policy might help to major workload burden for general for the control group of patients demedicalise the problem of practices as ear irrigation is compared to those instructed in the earwax removal, saving patients carried out by doctors or practice use of a bulb syringe. This means nurses, say the UK authors of a one consultation would be avoided study in Annals of Family Medicine. for every two patients presenting Medicine in the media
PATIENTS ARE BEING
LIVERPOOL HOSPITAL
FEDERAL INDEPENDENT
TURNED AWAY from
IN SYDNEY is screening the
MP ANDREW WILKIE
families of almost 200 babies for has accused the Tasmanian tuberculosis after a staff member Government of failing to submit a report on time, which would SA HEALTH HAS BEEN
are trigger another $50 million ACCUSED OF BULLYING
in Federal funding for the STAFF after a psychiatrist was
THE TOWN OF DENMAN
threatened with dismissal for IN NSW has a state of the
putting up a flyer against the art medical facility with 20 MEDICAL EXPERTS ARE
proposed closure of Flinders A ‘PRO-FAMILY' GROUP
CALLING ON NICOLA
SAYS new legislation in South
ROXON to shut down a
Australia could make it possible university chiropractic clinic in for a person to speed up an Melbourne aimed at children, MEDICARE AUSTRALIA
ONE IN TEN PATIENTS
inheritance by soliciting a doctor SAYS ITS NEW ONLINE
NOW GO ONLINE to seek
SERVICE will enable patients to
medical help instead of seeing their GP, according to an Irish A HOBART GP HAS BEEN
JAILED FOR A YEAR after
ALMOST 800 WA CHILDREN
being found guilty of using were withdrawn from the STORYLINES IN MEDICAL
a carriage service for child national vaccination program in DRAMAS AND SOAPS have
pornography and possessing 2010, causing concern among promoted copycat illnesses that GP spirometry is stay rural for a second and third promoting cardiac CT scans (plus term and some stay post training another diagnostic procedure) for an indefinite period. You in the RACV magazine. These also neglect to report on those didn't seem to me to be standard I believe this article is near registrars that did undertake a diagnostic procedures, so I fictitious and is not helpful to single rural term and enjoyed the googled his name and discovered experience and feel that it added that he was the director of Registrars DO receive a variety to their body of knowledge and two companies that promote of supports when undertaking a skill. In my view this article is the diagnostic procedures he rural rotation including, and not limited to: assistance finding You would do well to report I wrote to the magazine accommodation, reimbursement comments in a manner that are complaining about the failure to allowance for accommodation, balanced and truthful. These publish this conflict of interest. travel funding, utilities, and comments only add to the It seems they did not know and much of it non-prescribed. There anxiety that some registrars do didn't ask. However, they added a are enhanced arrangements experience before they go rural.
comment after my published letter for more remote placements, promising to do so in future.
It's amazing how the same results and assistance with family CEO, GP Synergy
Billy Joe
can be interpreted to completely arrangements where applicable or different ends. Last week at the required. Organisation like ours Coronary scans driven There is good evidence that Asthma Foundation conference employ a dedicated relocation scans can detect atherosclerosis. in Melbourne, one of the authors and support officer to assist with However, getting a person to of this paper used his results to transitionary needs, and have make long term changes to argue that regular spirometry by registrar liaison officer as well.
reduce their risk profile is not GPs was useless.
You also neglect to identify the many registrars that decide to

Source: http://media.cirrusmedia.com.au/6M_Media_Library/Newsletters/20110318_Newsletter.pdf