April 2020

Four new private COVID-19 collection centres are set to open on Monday May 4, with new South-West sites to be established in Busselton and South Bunbury, and two new metropolitan sites for Myaree and Osborne Park. The State Government is working with Clinipath to establish the four new drive-through clinics, which will complement the 11 other private testing sites announced earlier this month, further expanding WA's testing capabilities. Clinipath will run the test sites as drive-through clinics so people do not need to leave their vehicle. COVID-19 testing is also taking place at seven hospital sites across the metropolitan area…

RACGP and Diabetes Australia has published a guideline to diabetes management during the coronavirus pandemic which outlines essential care for diabetic patients including routine care and management of sick days. Further information is available on HealthPathways, Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Diabetes pathway. Access the guideline here

COVID testing analysers to be rolled out in regional areas Faster turn-around-times for some of our most vulnerable people Further increasing Statewide testing capacity Faster turn-around-times in regional areas will be available for urgent cases with the introduction of regional on-site testing analysers for COVID-19 - with results available within an hour.   The analysers will provide testing capability to regional areas of most need, further adding to the State's testing capacity.   For the first time, the McGowan Government. through PathWest, is installing molecular PCR analysers in select laboratories outside of Perth - the first of which will be…

Watch a replay of all the webinars in the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia COVID-19 webinar series. Topics include: • COVID-19: your questions answered • COVID-19: Your Immunisation Questions Answered • COVID-19: How to support your immunocompromised patients and staff • COVID-19: Pharmacy Layout and Protection Webinars are released weekly. Visit: https://www.psa.org.au/coronavirus/#1586994711546-c6446477-1e24

King Edward Memorial Hospital has prepared a comprehensive list of support services available to pregnant women and new mums during the COVID-19 pandemic. The webpage includes links to information about supports for mental health during COVID-19, a COVID-19 & pregnancy fact sheet, changes to pregnancy education sessions and outpatient clinics at KEMH, as well as information about organisations available to help pregnant women and new parents. You can direct your pregnant patients to this information here.

24 new telehealth items have been added to the Telehealth list this week, with the exciting news that 4 new telehealth items are now available for a practice nurse or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner (mirroring items 10987 and 10997).  These items 93200 and 93201 are available for Monday 20thApril 2020. Click here for a full list COVID-19 Telehealth items.  

Palliative Care Australia has formed the Australian COVID-19 Palliative Care Working Group (ACPCWG) in partnership with other palliative care organisations to support health professionals to integrate palliative care into COVID-19 planning and provide resources and assistance in the COVID-19 context. Visit the Caresearch website for trustworthy information and resources on palliative care and COVID-19 for allied health, nursing, General Practitioners and more.

WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network Fellowships 2021 - now open   Applications for the WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network (WACPCN) Cancer Fellowships 2021 program are now open.   WACPCN Cancer Fellowships assists medical practitioners to expand their experience and skills with the ultimate aim of improving health outcomes for cancer patients. Fellowships help medical practitioners develop their research capability, undertake high quality research, and/or acquire specialised clinical skills that cannot be funded through the usual clinical pathways.   Funding is offered for two streams:   • Research Stream. Projects should address relevant contemporary challenges faced by WA Health…

What does electronic prescribing mean for GPs in the fight against coronavirus?   GPs can now send prescriptions to pharmacists electronically as an interim solution during the pandemic.   Read more here: https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/what-does-electronic-prescribing-mean-for-gps-in-t?fbclid=IwAR0NNRSiO50W0sJULmMPqBEnxg-pSmTHmjyFtZxVw_pMn2-IzgJYmW3MU2c