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| Doomadgee 2010 |
I will post my thoughts about my experience at Doomadgee in the near future.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Closing the Gap ... it's not just a gap y'know
Closing the Gap—PBS Co-payment Measure - this system is in place to subsidise prescriptions for those of an indigenous background
"who present with an existing chronic disease or are at risk of chronic disease and in the opinion of the prescriber:
would experience setbacks in the prevention or ongoing management of chronic disease if they did not take the prescribed medicine and
are unlikely to adhere to their medicines regimen without assistance through the measure."
A practice needs to be registered for PIP or an Indigenous Health Service (IHS).
I have been instructed that I cannot write Closing the Gap(CTG) scripts because I am neither employed by the IHS nor is there any formal agreement between myself and the IHS.
I am contracted by Queensland Health Service (QHS) via the locum service to provide medical services to the local community and as such not directly employed by the local IHS.
It therefore comes down to whether a formal agreement is in place between myself and the IHS ... and it appears there is none. There is currently an outstanding lack of agreement between the local IHS and QHS. I have, after some considered thought and attempting to seek independent verification, decided that a formal agreement is not required between QHS and the local IHS for a formal agreement to be in place between myself as an individual and the IHS.
I will pursue this avenue. Unless this issue is resolved the local community is disadvantaged. The community come in through a single door into a single facility (recently built at the cost of 16.3 million dollars) and if they cannot see the IHS employed doctor who can give them "free" prescriptions, they must see a QHS doctor who according the IHS management, cannot write a "free" prescription.
I hope while the major formal agreement is pending, a local arrangement can be entered into to support the community where it is needed.
"who present with an existing chronic disease or are at risk of chronic disease and in the opinion of the prescriber:
would experience setbacks in the prevention or ongoing management of chronic disease if they did not take the prescribed medicine and
are unlikely to adhere to their medicines regimen without assistance through the measure."
A practice needs to be registered for PIP or an Indigenous Health Service (IHS).
I have been instructed that I cannot write Closing the Gap(CTG) scripts because I am neither employed by the IHS nor is there any formal agreement between myself and the IHS.
I am contracted by Queensland Health Service (QHS) via the locum service to provide medical services to the local community and as such not directly employed by the local IHS.
It therefore comes down to whether a formal agreement is in place between myself and the IHS ... and it appears there is none. There is currently an outstanding lack of agreement between the local IHS and QHS. I have, after some considered thought and attempting to seek independent verification, decided that a formal agreement is not required between QHS and the local IHS for a formal agreement to be in place between myself as an individual and the IHS.
I will pursue this avenue. Unless this issue is resolved the local community is disadvantaged. The community come in through a single door into a single facility (recently built at the cost of 16.3 million dollars) and if they cannot see the IHS employed doctor who can give them "free" prescriptions, they must see a QHS doctor who according the IHS management, cannot write a "free" prescription.
I hope while the major formal agreement is pending, a local arrangement can be entered into to support the community where it is needed.
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