Avant Learning Centre CPD Portal

This course is based on a hypothetical case study about a GP's failure to follow up a patient who was referred for investigation of a breast lump. The delays in diagnosis and treatment led to the patient requiring surgery and chemotherapy. The prognosis was poor and the condition becomes palliative.

The relationship between a doctor and patient is at the core of a clinical consultation. This course aims to refresh skills to assist the medical practitioner during a consultation with a difficult patient.

Australian law and medical practice reflect the fundamental ethical principle of autonomy: recognising that individuals have the right to make informed decisions about their medical treatment. Except in a life-threatening emergency, a patient with capacity needs to give voluntary and informed consent before undergoing any examination, investigation, procedure or treatment.

This module has been removed and  replaced with communication Fundamentals https://www.avant.org.au/Communication_fundamentals/ and Consultation Insights https://www.avant.org.au/Consultation_insights/ courses. 

This module aims to refresh communication skills that may assist the medical practitioner to gather appropriate and useful diagnostic information during a consultation.

This course is based around a hypothetical case study. Dr Lai, a cardiothoracic surgery registrar, transects a patient’s costochondral cartilages during surgery. The hospital receives a complaint from the 70 year old male patient. Dr Lai discusses the situation with the consultant surgeon and the Director of Clinical Governance but is unsure of how to respond. The hospital ultimately is delayed in providing a response and the patient issues a claim against all parties.

This elearning course describes the challenges associated with identifying mental illness in patients, and managing the practitioner-patient professional boundary. Breakdown in the professional boundary can lead to significant problems for patients, and is one of the major reasons for complaints against practitioners.

This course is based around the hypothetical case study of a 21 year old aspiring model who consults Dr Mark Field a plastic surgeon for a cosmetic rhinoplasty. Chantal has tight deadlines for her surgical outcomes and when those outcomes don't meet her expectations, she complains to Dr Field and seeks compensation.

The requirements for medical records include clinical guidelines and legal responsibilities. They are also a key communication tool, important evidence of the care you have given for colleagues, to Medicare, during a complaint process, or in a court of law. Key requirements are outlined in this course.

The requirements for medical records include clinical guidelines and legal responsibilities. Your legal responsibilities include the obligations for privacy, storage and retention of records. The key requirements are outlined in this course.

Welcome to the Avant online course Medical records: Chapter three – activity. The requirements for the documentation of a consultation includes having a systematic and contemporaneous account of the consultation.

This course is no longer current. It has been replaced by

Prescribing principles: Part one – general prescribing issues

Please click here to access the new version.

This course is no longer current. It has been replaced by

Prescribing principles: Part two – opioids and other drugs of dependence

Please click here to access the new version.

This course explores common medico-legal issues that Urologists face in their everyday practice. This course is based around the hypothetical case study of a 78 year old male who consults Dr Burns regarding his prostrate. Mr Young's surgery has unexpected adverse outcomes and a complaint is made.

As a benefit to members, medico-legal expertise is available 24/7 in emergencies through our Medico-legal Advisory Service telephone advice line. One of the most common types of calls we receive is about how to respond to requests for information for use in legal proceedings or for a medico-legal purpose. Many doctors are uncertain about how to respond to these requests. As this handbook will make clear, there are different obligations and requirements for different types of medico-legal information requests.

This course has a medico-legal overview and discusses the importance of good communication in clinical practice and how this contributes to a sound consent process. The program is entirely online and has 6-8 hours of content with some additional reading as required.

This course has 16 RACGP CPD activity points

The webinar will be entitled “Hanging up your stethoscope: thinking about, preparing and planning for retirement”. Specifically, the topics for discussion will include:

• Identify important factors to consider when determining an optimal time to retire
• Identify the factors related to ageing that increase your level of risk
• Outline the legal requirements of selling or winding down a practice
• Implement strategies to make a smooth transition from practice to retirement

This webinar will give an overview of current knowledge and best practice in relation to managing difficult patient situations. Topics covered include:

• General advice when managing a difficult patient situation
• Types of difficult patient situations
• Patient complaints and responses
• Ending the doctor-patient relationship 

Medicare compliance activity can take several different formats ranging from education to audits. This webinar explores ways you can reduce your risk of Medicare compliance activity and maintain best practice. Topics covered include:

• Medicare compliance and requirements
• Advice to reduce the risk of a Medicare audit
• Documentation requirements for Medicare

The webinar will be entitled “More than words: communication and clinical-handover”.

Learning objectives:

• Discuss the reasons clinical handover is an important quality safety standard.
• Describe the tools available to clinicians around effective clinical handover.
• Identify the patient risks associated with poor clinical handover and how to reduce these risks.

This webinar provides an update on prescribing issues such as real time prescribing and other opioid prescribing changes

• Explore the clinical indications for opioid prescribing
• Identify the legislative requirements for opioid prescribing
• Discuss the role of alternative treatments
  

This webinar discusses the Good medical practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia as the foundational document that establishes the professional framework for medical practitioners in Australia. The code of conduct was updated in late 2020 and this discussion brings attention to the aspects of the code that have been amended or added as well as a general discussion of the key concepts. It includes:

• The key principles of professionalism as it relates to the medical profession.
• The role the code of conduct has in guiding professional standards.
• The key standards and expectations discussed in the code.

The webinar will be entitled “Sign here: how to overcome obstacles in gaining consent”. Specifically, the topics for discussion will include:

• Identify issues which may complicate the consent process
• Illustrate the provisions surrounding implied consent
• Illustrate the provisions surrounding consent in the emergency setting
• Identify risk management strategies which can be implemented to help obtain consent in difficult situations

Guidelines issued by the Medical Board of Australia say that whenever possible, doctors should avoid providing medical care to anyone with whom they have a close personal relationship.

Recorded on 26 August 2020, this webinar explores the issues arising from this statement giving practical advice and exploring case scenarios.

Diagnostic error is a clinical event that is reported to occur in approximately 10% of all cases. For the majority of these cases there is minimal impact to the patient, but in some situations the impact can be significant. In this discussion, with international expert Dr Mark Graberand Avant's Dr Owen Bradfield, we explore practical advice to help reduce the frequency of diagnostic errors and improve patient safety.

Avant provides support for you if you are required to undergo a Medicare audit. In this video we discuss how to improve your practice so you can reduce the risk of being the subject of an audit. We also look at the Medicare compliance process and how it works.