Are you ready for the Auditor - AMA WA

THE AMA WORKING
FOR THE PROFESSION
• Development of draft guide for doctors on how to use
the PCEHR (Personally Controlled Electronic Health
Record)
• Continuing the call for GPs to be financially supported
for the extra clinical services they will be providing to
patients with PCEHR
• Exploring workforce planning and clinical training issues
in relation to the proposed new Curtin Medical School
• Providing advice and assistance to address public sector
hospital misinformation regarding rights of private
practice for State public sector full-time, 0.8 and sessional
practitioners operating under Arrangement A
• Clarified information regarding supervision requirements
for procedural trainees’ services to bona fide private
patients to attract Medicare benefits
• Advice in respect to retrospective billing
Case Study :
Explanation of GP Registrar Entitlements
Dr David Kehoe* contacted the Association after
experiencing difficulty with being paid his annual leave.
Dr Kehoe is employed as a GP Registrar Year 2 i.e.
GPT2. He had proceeded on a period of 2 weeks of annual
leave straddling two pay periods. In the two pay periods
in question Dr Kehoe’s % of billings had exceeded the
minimum wage as defined within the National Minimum
Terms and Conditions (NMTC). Dr Kehoe had sought
to raise the issue with the Practice Principal and Practice
Manager at XYZ General Practice but to no avail as they felt
that as the % of billings exceeded the minimum wage that no
additional payment was required.
As a member of the AMA Dr Kehoe was able to access
the following:
• Assistance in reviewing his weekly earnings for ordinary
hours calculated since the commencement of term and thus
determining his average.
• Assistance in discussing the AMA’s assessment with the
Private Practice concerned including providing specific
clarification to the Private Practice on how to interpret the
NMTC document (which can be difficult for practices to
interpret).
How did AMA membership benefit Dr Kehoe?
As a result of the assistance, advice and advocacy on his
behalf Dr Kehoe was paid his annual leave entitlement and
clarification was able to be provided to the Private Practice
which assists in their ongoing employment and supervision of
GP Registrars and ensures that they are seen as an Employer
of choice.
Case Study:
Junior Doctor’s Pay Dispute
Dr Jane Weston* had been rostered for 76 hours during a
fortnight in which a public holiday fell but had not been
required to work on the public holiday. Although her
employer paid her correctly in accordance with the clause
relating to observed Public Holidays, they failed to pay her
in accordance with the Payment of Overtime clause which
required them to pay her for 4 hours at the overtime rate of
150%.
As a member of the AMA Dr Weston was able to access
the following:
• Assistance in raising the matter with both the HCN and
the Health Industrial Relations Service
• Requiring the employer to comply with the overtime
provisions of the Agreement
How did AMA membership benefit Dr Weston?
The AMA ensured that the error was rectified and Dr
Weston received the outstanding amount of pay
• Lobbied State Government to immediately stop
Treasury grabbing money from Special Purpose
Accounts (SPAs) used by doctors for teaching,
training and research
• Advising members regarding their rights to
undertake additional work external to their
contract of employment with a public hospital.
• Providing members with advice on filling out the
AIMS form in light of qualified privilege being
under review
• Assisting members in understanding their
HCN payslips, identifying significant errors
and representing individual members in gaining
recompense
• Providing members and their staff with
information on changes to the Nurses Award and
Health Professional Support Services Award to
ensure that members are complying with Fair
Work Australia requirements
• Assisting members in performance managing
their employees and, where necessary, assisting
with termination of employment
• Assisting members in dealing with unfair
dismissal applications before Fair Work Australia
• Advising members as to what they should do if
they receive documents about a patient from a
Nurse Practitioner
32 MEDICUS May