Australian Medical Association

What happens when doctors don’t act as they should? And what's the ruling against neurosurgeon Charlie Teo?

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, July 13, 2023
Exercise, Review, Punishment, Medical Council, Light, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, Australian Medical Association, Brain, Neurosurgery, History, Brain death, Government, Malignant Tumour, AHPRA, Patient, Health, AMA, Ethics, HCCC, Safety, Pharmaceutical industry, Medical imaging, Nursing, Financial adviser, Medical device, Property management, Risk management, Dentistry, NSW

After several years of controversy, and both praise and blame for his willingness to perform high-risk surgeries, neurosurgeon Charlie Teo has been subject to practice restrictions by a special committee of the Medical Council of New South Wales. So how does the process of restricting doctors’ medical practice work? And what did this mean for Teo?How are health practitioners regulated in Australia? Health practitioner regulators in Australia aren’t generally empowered to make punitive decisions about health professionals’ conduct.

Key Points: 


After several years of controversy, and both praise and blame for his willingness to perform high-risk surgeries, neurosurgeon Charlie Teo has been subject to practice restrictions by a special committee of the Medical Council of New South Wales. So how does the process of restricting doctors’ medical practice work? And what did this mean for Teo?

How are health practitioners regulated in Australia?

    • Health practitioner regulators in Australia aren’t generally empowered to make punitive decisions about health professionals’ conduct.
    • Instead, Australia’s health practitioner regulations (the so-called “national law”) require decision-makers to exercise their powers to protect patients.
    • As the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) acknowledges, requirements to protect the public may sometimes result in “a determination that is harsher on the practitioner than if punishment were the sole purpose”.

What happened in the Teo case?

    • In late 2022, proceedings commenced against Teo via two complaints by the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission (HCCC).
    • Tragically, neither patient regained consciousness after the operations and both patients died – one just ten days after.
    • The HCCC alleged Teo had engaged in two categories of this wrongdoing: conduct below the standard reasonably expected of a doctor of his training and experience, and unethical conduct.

What were the findings and consequences for Teo?

    • Though the committee is not legally bound to apply the rules of evidence applied in criminal courts, it decided, broadly for procedural fairness reasons, to receive and consider all of Teo’s unchallenged evidence.
    • In a decision of more than 100 pages, the committee found Teo guilty of unsatisfactory professional conduct.
    • Read more:
      Doctors may soon get official 'endorsements' to practise cosmetic surgery – but will that protect patients?

What about patient autonomy or clinical freedom?

    • Here, the committee had to balance the practitioner’s right to practise medicine against the paramount consideration of patient health and safety and against the patient’s right to exercise autonomy.
    • a surgeon does not have a licence to undertake any conceivable procedure even with the agreement or acquiescence of the patient.

Is medical regulation strict in Australia and NSW?

    • Many reviews and academic studies find the national law to be fair and appropriate, or not strict enough.
    • However, some scholars and representative groups including the Australian Medical Association (AMA) find some aspects are too strict and unsympathetic to practitioners.
    • But a potted history of NSW medical history showcases how successive medical scandals have tended to drive strong regulatory reform.

What next for Teo?


    Teo may appeal the orders of the committee to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal or seek a review of the conditions. But as the conditions are not subject to an end date, it appears they will otherwise continue indefinitely.

    Read more:
    How can the health regulator better protect patients from sexual misconduct?

Here's why pharmacists are angry at script changes – and why the government is making them anyway

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Vaccine, Pharmacy (shop), Small business, Pharmacy, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Election commission, Urinary tract infection, Review, Policy, Prescription, Feather, Medicine, Research, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, COVID, Supermarket, Health policy, Government, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Pharmacist, Hospital, Community, Patient, Australian Medical Association, Australian Electoral Commission, Income, Fair Work Act 2009, Conditional sentence, Health, Remuneration, Environment, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, GP, PBS, Health insurance, Distribution (marketing), Tailor, Property management, Health care, Generic drug, Soft drink, Pharmaceutical industry

This change is expected to halve the cost of prescriptions for six million Australians.

Key Points: 
  • This change is expected to halve the cost of prescriptions for six million Australians.
  • take advice around medicine supply and medicine shortages from our medicines authorities rather than the pharmacy lobby group.
  • This government is using its political capital to push health reform forward and doesn’t seem afraid to ruffle a few feathers.

What is the Pharmacy Guild of Australia?

    • It acts like a union for community pharmacy (also known as chemists) owners.
    • It provides resources to help pharmacists improve their small businesses, but most of its membership value comes from advocating for community pharmacy owners.
    • Known as Community Pharmacy Agreements, the first was signed in 1990, while the most recent seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement was signed in 2020.

How does the guild wield its power?

    • It has a reputation for shaping government health policy envied by many a health care peak body.
    • The guild also takes a more direct approach to influencing government policy.
    • The Australian Electoral Commission reported the guild was the 13th largest political donor in 2021–22, donating $578,000 to political parties across 88 separate donations.

What policies has the guild influenced?

    • The guild convinced the government to provide community pharmacies and pharmaceutical wholesalers with an extra $225 million in the 2017–18 budget because prescription volumes were lower than expected within the sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement.
    • Read more:
      What is the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and why does it wield so much power?

What are the Pharmacy Location Rules?

    • The Pharmacy Location Rules are an agreement between the Australian government and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
    • The Pharmacy Location Rules do not allow new pharmacies to open within 1.5 kilometres or 10 kilometres of an existing pharmacy depending on the location, distance to the nearest pharmacy, and the number of supermarkets and medical practitioners in the area.
    • The Pharmacy Location Rules were introduced in the first Community Pharmacy Agreement to help larger pharmacies generate efficiencies and profit through scale.
    • Upon further lobbying, the Pharmacy Location Rules sunset clause was removed after the guild formed a Pharmacy Compact with the government in 2017.

Pharmacy policies that benefit consumers

    • Community pharmacists are increasingly providing services traditionally delivered by GPs.
    • This push towards greater scope of practice is embedded in the current and prior Community Pharmacy Agreements.
    • It outlined ways to improve pharmacy competition in a government submission, which included removing Pharmacy Location Rules and getting pharmacies to compete on medicine prices through discounting.

What does this all mean for patients?

    • Savings will be used to further expand the scope of practice for pharmacists, potentially informed by a National Scope of Practice Review to start in 2023.
    • It has already canvassed 2,500 “voters” across Australia on the budget proposal.
    • In the coming whirlwind of power struggles, wouldn’t it be nice if the government and providers worked together to put the patient first?

Improving privacy in Australia’s general practices a joint effort

Retrieved on: 
Monday, October 31, 2022
Review, OAIC, AMA, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, GP, Section, Privacy Act 1988, AAPM, Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Regulation, Privacy, Documentation, Privacy Act, ACRRM, RACGP, Freedom of Information Act 1982, Practice management software, Family medicine, Compliance, Association, Commissioner, Legislation, Australian Medical Association, Policy, Information, Assistant commissioner, Royal college, Freedom, Dispute resolution, APP, General practitioner, Practice management, Information commissioner, Hospital, Whaling, Satellite navigation device, Medical device, Management, Audit

= Improving privacy in Australias general practices a joint effort =

Key Points: 
  • = Improving privacy in Australias general practices a joint effort =
    Acting Australian Information Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim, has today welcomed a series of actions by Australias peak medical groups to improve privacy practices at Australias GP clinics.
  • A recent assessment of GP practices by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) suggests that many practices could use more practical support to improve or establish privacy policies, said the Commissioner.
  • The OAIC appreciates that many GP practices are small to medium sized businesses and so practical, industry-relevant support is an effective way to improve privacy outcomes for practices and patients.
  • The OAIC regulates Australias
    Privacy Act 1988 and last year conducted an assessment of the privacy policies of 40 GP practices from across Australia.
  • The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners President, Dr Frank R Jones, said the report was a timely reminder for general practices to review their privacy policies.
  • The report focused on assessing the privacy policies of 40 General Practice Clinics against Australian Privacy Principle (APP) 1 under the
    Privacy Act 1988.
  • The
    General Practice Clinics APP 1 Privacy Policy assessment report was conducted under Section 33C of the Privacy Act 1988.

ASDSA Opposes Physician Assistant Name Change, Co-sponsors Resolution at AMA Special Meeting of the House of Delegates

Retrieved on: 
Monday, June 21, 2021
American Medical Association, Physician assistant, Health care, Health sciences, Australian Medical Association

I see patients who have been injured by devices pioneered by dermatologic surgeons but used by non-physician providers.

Key Points: 
  • I see patients who have been injured by devices pioneered by dermatologic surgeons but used by non-physician providers.
  • If physician assistant training has not changed with regards to content and duration, then neither should the name.
  • At the recent American Medical Association (AMA) Special Meeting of the House of Delegates, ASDSA was a co-sponsor of a resolution passed by delegates that directed the AMA to actively oppose the name change.
  • In 2017, ASDSA sponsored a resolution to keep physician assistant regulation under the auspices of state medical boards, which was adopted by the AMA House of Delegates.