AMAV VICDOC Winter 2024 - Magazine - Page 75
T H E AU ST RA L I A N H EA LT H P RACT I T I O N E R
R EG U L AT I ON AG E N CY
an Ahpra notification is made
W hen
against a medical practitioner, it
can understandably be an extremely
distressing and confusing experience.
The whole process is often described
as a “black box”, where there is a vacuum
of information and transparency about
what happens with each notification.
It can also be a very lengthy process,
leading to significant mental health issues
for doctors who feel they have a dark
cloud hanging over their heads for an
extended period.
It is important to know that if you
receive a notification, you are not alone.
Most doctors will receive at least one
notification against them during their
careers, with around five % of doctors
receiving one each year. While over 60%
are resolved with no findings against
the practitioner and only 0.7% result
in cancellation or restrictions
to registration, the uncertainty and lack
of understanding about the process can
make it worse than it should be.
Limiting the impact of the notification
process is one of the AMA’s main goals in
our advocacy and work related to Ahpra.
Improving understanding by shining a light
into the black box is one of the ways we
aim to do this.
In March, we hosted a member-only
webinar with Matthew Hardy, National
Director of Notifications at Ahpra.
Mr Hardy pointed to several improvements
to the Ahpra process that he directly
attributed to the AMA’s long-standing
advocacy and continued engagement
with Ahpra.
For example, having a single case
manager assigned to each case, having
more doctors involved in assessing
notifications, and placing a greater focus
on practitioner health and wellbeing
throughout the notification process
are all direct results of AMA advocacy.
Mr Hardy acknowledged the Ahpra
notifications process is a vexed issue
for many doctors, but the first step of
understanding the process is acknowledging
that the National Law, which is a creation of
all the state and territory health ministers
and has been passed separately by the
parliaments of each jurisdiction, says a
notification is classified as any concern
about a practitioner’s health, conduct
or performance.
These parameters are extremely broad,
and it’s important to understand there
is not necessarily a high threshold for
a notification to be made, but Ahpra is
obligated to accept a notification if it meets
just very basic requirements. This means
the assumption that only serious matters
can be reported to Ahpra is incorrect.
Mr Hardy also shared some illuminating
statistics that should put to bed
some misconceptions about the
notifications process.
For example, more than 80% of
notifications are made by patients or their
relatives or advocates, and just 7.2%
are made by fellow practitioners.
Of all notifications made, just 10.4%
are mandatory, which may arise
out of concerns about a practitioner’s
health status, drug or alcohol misuse
or sexual misconduct.
In its most recent reporting period,
Ahpra has managed to resolve 78% of
cases in under six months, which is a
considerable improvement on where things
were before, and they have ambitions to
resolve the vast majority of cases within
three months.
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