New DVD Helps Doctors Managing Difficult Issues

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 18 Jun 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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To support doctors who are confronted with challenging issues in medical practice, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria have developed a DVD that provides doctors with tips on managing difficult situations while maintaining their legal and ethical obligations.

The DVD Face to Face: Challenging Cases in Medical Practice , developed with financial support from the Department of Human Services ( Victoria ), features general practitioners in consultation with patients (played by actors) in a range of common and challenging scenarios.

The scenarios explore issues that are frequently involved in complaints to the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria including: accepting gifts, bending the rules when supplying medical certificates, 'doctor shopping' for prescription drugs, consenting minors and sexual misconduct.

Dr Morton Rawlin, Chair, RACGP Victoria Faculty stressed that it was vital GPs were appropriately trained in dealing with challenging patient requests and knew how to establish some clear ground rules.

"The RACGP welcomes the opportunity to work with the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria to produce this resource. The DVD will be an important source of information: most importantly the DVD addresses these issues in ways that are easy to apply to every day practice," said Dr Rawlin.

Board President, Dr Robert Adler, said the Board hoped the DVD would support doctors and provide clear guidance when dealing with difficult situations.

"The DVD illustrates good medical practice in Australia and details the expectations of the Board, the profession and the community on a range of issues," Dr Adler said.

Victorian Health Minister, Daniel Andrews MP, will be launching the DVD at the Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria offices in Melbourne on 18 June 2009.

The Medical Board will give free copies of the DVD to medical practitioners granted specific registration, many of whom are international medical graduates seeking support and guidance as they make the transition to the Australian healthcare system.

Copies of the DVD are available for sale through the RACGP website at http://www.racgp.org.au/publications/orders.

Source
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners