GP Access
Community Partnerships Unit |
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About us
The Melbourne Health Community Partnerships Unit works with staff to improve continuity of care as patients move from hospital to home.
This work includes assisting staff and departments to communicate more effectively with general practitioners and community services and participation in various community based and hospital projects to improve the patient journey between hospital and home. Among its responsibilities and initiatives are:
Meet the Staff
GP Liaison
The Community Partnerships Unit provides GP Liaison services across Melbourne Health. The objective of the unit is to improve communication between the services provided by Melbourne Health and General Practitioners. We welcome feedback from GPs and service providers about Melbourne Health so please feel free to contact us on the above numbers or our GP liaison enquiry email:
gpliaison@mh.org.au
What's New?
The Community Partnerships Unit is committed to providing up to date information about Melbourne Health to GPs and other health professionals. We have published the first of our bi-monthly newsletters - if you have any questions, suggestions or comments please forward to: gpliaison@mh.org.au
Patient Flow Messenger - Improving communication with GPs (July 2011)
Melbourne Health have commenced an autofax notification system to General Practitioners. The first notifications to GPs include admission to, discharge from and death in hospital - including both RMH - City Campus and RMH - Royal Park campus. Future notifications will include outpatient and elective surgery access notifications and a trial of sending the Emergency Department discharge letter to GPs as well.
The new autofax notification system utilises the Human Services Directory (HSD) to derive correct and current GP details. Please ensure that your current practice details are on the HSD in order to receive fax notifications.
Initial feedback from several practices indicates a preference for receiving the notifications by secure e-messaging. We are currently working with our software vendor to provide this service to practices who would prefer this method of communication.
Project updates will be posted here as new notifications "go live". Please feel free to ring on (03) 8387 2161 or email: gpliaison@mh.org.au if you have any questions
RMH Surgical endocrine unit
The Royal Melbourne Hospital currently runs a quality surgical endocrine service and would like to encourage GPs to refer to the comprehensive clinics.
RMH Endocrine Surgery Unit: Thyroid Cancer Multidisciplinary Meeting and Clinic
Purpose: For specialist follow up of patients with known thyroid cancer
Clinic: 2nd Wed of each month (Medicare Bulk-Billed Clinic)
Staffed by: Specialist surgeons, endocrinology, nuclear physicians
Clinic coordinator: Dr Julie Miller, Specialist Endocrine Surgeon
Multidisciplinary meeting: 1st Wed of each month – generates reports to the GP
General and Thyroid Surgery Clinic: every Wed PM at RMH
Purpose: Manages Surgical Disease of the Thyroid, Parathyroid, and Adrenal Glands
Clinical criteria for referral: Accept referrals for all thyroid nodular disease, goiter, hyperparathyroidism, adrenal masses.
(thyroid function problems including hyperthyroidism best referred to Thyroid Medicine/endocrinology Wed AM clinic)
Which thyroid nodules warrant specialist surgical referral? >10mm diameter or >5mm with high risk history or suspicious ultrasound features. Retrosternal extension of goiter, Pressure symptoms, hoarseness, stridor
Please send with referral:
Thyroid function tests, Vitamin D, Calcium, Ultrasound report (and please send images with patient)
Usually not indicated:
Thyroid nuclear scan (unless hyperthyroid), CT scan
All referrals can be made through the Outpatients central bookings on:
Phone: 9342 7393
Fax: 9342 4234
GP referrals for lower back pain to RMH spinal outpatient clinics
The Orthpaedic spinal unit and the physiotherapy department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital have developed comprehensive guidelines for GPs referring patients with lower back pain. The guidelines provide excellent advice on management of lower back pain and when to refer for specialist opinion.
Click here to view the guidelines
Breast Cancer Survivorship program
The Royal Melbourne Hospital in collaboration with the Women's, Western Health, BreaCan & the Inner North West Melbourne Medicare local have recently been granted funding by the Department of Health to develop a program for GP shared care for women who have completed definitive treatment for Breast Cancer.
Click here for more information on this exciting project
Primary Care and Population Health Advisory Committee
The role of the Primary Care and Population Health Advisory Committee is to advise the Melbourne Health Board on strategic issues and approaches to population health and service planning issues, with the aim of improving the health outcomes of the communities in the Melbourne Health catchment.
For more information on the committee please contact:
Meagan.Thompson@mh.org.au
Human Services Directory (HSD)
The Human Services Directory aims to provide accurate and up-to-date information about health, social and disability services in Victoria. Many health services utilise the directory to update GP details on a regular basis. To be included or update your details in the directory please click on the logo:
To utilise the search facility of the Human Services Directory, please use the consumer version of the HSD - click on the Better Health Channel logo:
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