Blogs

So what do I know about e-health? Not much really. Unlike many of my primary care colleagues, I can count the number of telehealth consultations I have done in the last 6 months on one hand. There’s a reason for this, and it’s not just because I have grey hair and refuse to move with the times. There’s a bunch of reasons why doing things from a distance is not always a solution, but I’m open to change as required. Having not participated much, but hearing lots about it, it’s made me think about where it might fit in my context. I think a really important thing to remember is that medicine is a hands on process, and as many have identified, it can be easy ...

Rural health context : I have worked as rural doctor in South Australia for 5 yrs and then as Royal Flying Doctor of Australia for last 12 yrs in far north West Queensland. This involves aeromedical retrieval emergency medicine as well as regular remote general practice medicine clinics to isolated communities with no other health services on site. Disclosures: I am owner and chief editor of 3 websites ( prehospitalmed.com , foam4gp.com , ketaminepro.com ) promoting free open access medical education and opinion pieces. This includes a podcast: The PHARM . What I did before Before I discovered FOAMed , social media and online medical education ...

As SARS-CoV-2 wreaks havoc across the land, we all know that, if nothing else, life will never be the same again. What we don’t know is just what, of the many changes that have occurred, which will ‘stick’ and which will evolve. In short, just what will primary care look like next year. Outcome Health, of which I am the research director, is the data custodian for the largest research capable GP database in the country (outside of the federal government). By providing services to several primary health networks, we offer a geographically intense view of a given area. As a Fellow of the college, and the chair of ACRRM’s digital health group – this gives ...

Many things have changed my practice over the past 47 years. Many influences have changed my attitude, my practice, and my locality. The one I would like to describe started in 2010 when I departed from 13 years of Academic Practice in Mt Isa and doing remote locums, to Kingaroy in a Director of Medical Services role. Within this hospital we had employed 2 clinical pharmacists, one very smart young pharmacist had a role in supporting medication safety within the South Burnett. I had never worked closely clinically with a pharmacist as part of my team and found that the input he provided into prescribing habits were relevant and insightful. I had ...