As we enter the middle period of Autumn and begin shifting gears from one vaccine program to another, we're currently awaiting the arrival of our government programme flu vaccines. Here's the plan so far:

• We'll be running a Flu Clinic for THREE (3) weeks, aiming to start from the week of ANZAC Day (Mon, 25th Apr).
• Clinics wll be run twice a week - unlike COVID clinics, these MUST be GP supervised, so my thanks to those that have already volunteered!
• Bookings will be majority online - once the days/dates are finalised (and after the government doses arrive), they'll be published in Teams for everyone to access. Having said that, if you've had a talk with a patient and feel they're a high priority, feel free to book them yourselves in either a clinic slot or your own lists!
• At this stage, we're holding off on taking bookings until our government doses arrive (given the difficulties in logistics with COVID vaccines, we've learnt to be cautious). Once this occurs, the information will be updated.

It's worth noting that the current advice moving into Flu Season is that patients are able to receive both their flu AND COVID vaccines on the same day (if they meet eligibility criteria), which will allow us to kill two birds with one stone!

Worth repeating, but the above icon when next to a patient's name in the appointment book indicates that the patient has indicated that they are eligible to receive their booster dose at their appointment - on average, roughly 60-70 patients per week are eligible (not including patients that misunderstand the question at screening). While our clinic demands declined sharply towards the end of March, the number of ad hoc requests has remained at this level for 2-3 weeks. We'll be increasing our ordering accordingly, but please remember to check with a patient when you see this icon - as mentioned above, we also intend to administer COVID boosters for eligible patients attending for the Flu Clinic, too!

Best Practice now has added integration with AIR, allowing us to:

• access patient immunisation histories directly from the register and update them. This will help us to better keep on top of overdue vaccinations by accessing and updating our own records for patients, but also allow us to verify vaccination dates for COVID vaccines to check eligibility.
• At the same time, we are able to print Immunisation Statements directly from the register to give to patients unable to do so themselves. For more information, check out the video below:

Repeat: Rainbow Telehealth...

The Rainbow software helps with the following:

• You to call through the practice's system and have the practice number appear on your patient's phone (thus negating the need to turn your OWN number off/on and maintain privacy).
• Allow admin to transfer calls BACK to your phone through the system should a call drop off from a patient, or should a specialist call for you on-site.
• Contact extensions also appear on incoming calls from Rainbow (i.e. 103, 111 or Procedure, rather than the Practice's trunk line - making it easier to follow-up who called)!

The software is free, and can be downloaded by clicking the button below and selecting your device type (Windows, Mac OS, iPhone or Android).

Please contact me for your username and password!

Please direct your patients to use the Practice's 'Contact Us' web portal to follow-up on their results, as well as when they need to send images or other documents prior to their appointments. This allows admin to better triage and direct correspondence, and reduces the pressure on nurses for follow-up during peak times!

We have had 2 attempts in the last month from unverified attachments that potentially could have lead to either a data breach or ransomware. Please do NOT encourage patients to email CSMP - ask them to use the 'Contact Us'  button on the practice website should they need to submit forms for review or images for consultations as this provides us with added security and minimises our risks!

Microsoft Teams...

If you've not done so already, please ensure that you've downloaded the Microsoft Teams app on either your desktop or personla device (phone, iPad, etc.)

While features such as the chats or channels may not be frequently used individually, the Teams app where practice policy information and news will be updated, as well as practice calendars for events, meetings and educaion sessions.

If you need help to do this, please let me know!

Coming Events...

• Doctors Committee (Thursday, 7th April) - Room 107, 1-2:30pm
• Nurses' Meeting (Friday, 8th April) - The SHU, 1-2pm
• Practice Lunch (Thursday, 14th April) - The Beer Garden, 1-2:30pm