Online bookings hot up
HealthEngine has some competition. Medical Director has recently released its web-based scheduling upgrade. Similar to HealthEngine, under its Terms and Conditions, anyone providing personal information to make a doctor appointment, consents to a third party (Health Communication Network) offering them products and services that the third party believes may be of interest to them. 1st Available is another online and mobile healthcare search and appointment booking service and because the development team’s background is with seek.com, carsales.com.au, realestate.com.au, this is very much about consumer convenience. 1st Available is using consumers to ‘incentivise’ providers to sign up, is ASX listed, and is a joint venture partner with health insurer Nib. It has also teamed up with whitecoat.com.au to accelerate growth by linking consumers to ancillary providers including dentists, optometrists, physiotherapists and chiropractors (about 20 in all, including naturopaths and western herbalists).
Taxing times
Just before the end of financial year we, and probably you, were bombarded with requests for donations. Under the heading “Finding better ways to save lives in rural and remote Australia” we got one such request from the Emergency Medicine Foundation which said it had funding requests for $11.7m for 160 research projects from some of Australia’s leading researchers who have identified opportunities to address these challenges in rural and remote regions. While we are talking tax, Dr Margot Cunich from Uncoventional Conventions warns that accreditation of a conference does not imply tax deductibility. For example, six hours of learning activities (even if accredited) spread across a 13-day tour would not satisfy the ATO. Seek tax advice before you claim.
Stop insulting General Practice
In July we were contacted via our website by a Hills GP who said he and his colleagues were insulted by a Tweet published in The West Australian that linked a poor performing cricketer with being a GP. The tweet read: “Now his test career is over, Watto (Shane Watson) can fulfil his dream of becoming a GP. He’s the go-to guy if you need a pointless referral.” Our doc told us the Abbott rebate freeze was insult enough but this was beyond the pale. When will the Government stand up for general practice? As the financial squeeze in health tightens, the value of GP services is being put on trial it seems. This issue and others are expected to come up at the September 10 Doctors Drum meeting organised by Medical Forum – ‘Money for Medicine – Slicing the Cake’ (see P18).
New centre brings hope
Back in 2013, Medical Forum took up the campaign for those with intellectual or cognitive disability who found themselves in the justice system, often jailed without trial (some for years) because they were deemed unfit to plead. Jail was the only alternative until last month when the Bennett Brook Disability Justice Centre in Caversham opened. The move has been welcomed by all those in the disability sector who have campaigned long and hard for such a facility. However, ED of People with Disabilities WA Samantha Jenkinson and CEO of Developmental Disability WA Taryn Harvey said legislative reform was needed so that Bennett Brook did not become another form of indefinite custody.
Faces of pain
A facial recognition app which aims to detect pain in the elderly with dementia has been brewing in the backlots of Curtin’s Bentley campus for more than two years. The research team now hopes to refine the software to create a second app that would detect pain in pre-verbal children. The Electronic Pain Assessment Tool, or ePAT, is the brainchild of a Curtin School of Pharmacy research team being led by Prof Jeff Hughes. The tool, using 3D facial recognition software, maps the objective facial features of pain and combines that with other non-facial features to determine the presence and severity of pain through a 10-second video. Local investors have backed the project, which is hoped to pass the registration hurdles within 18 months.
Overdose awareness
The inaugural International Overdose Awareness Day forum was held on September 1 to raise awareness of prescription medication misuse and addiction. The patron is Kim Ledger whose actor son Heath died from such an overdose. Scriptwise, a not-for-profit organisation, has organised the event to advance the voices and concerns of families and individuals who have been personally affected by prescription medication addiction and overdose. Spokesperson Vicki Weston said that in 2013 prescription medications contributed to 75% of the 116-recorded fatal overdoses in WA, while illicit drugs contributed to 46.6%. See www.scriptwise.org.au