I'm pleased to say that our inaugural Skin Cancer Conference took place successfully last month in Sydney. The one-day conference was warmly praised by all who attended and I'm looking forward to this becoming an annual educational event.
The education programme for our doctors is largely still in the planning phase but we've held three well-received structured educational events in the last few months and we're looking at a range of initiatives to facilitate continuing medical education for our doctors. Given the number of doctors who work with IPN and the geographical challenges, this is quite a task but, via partnerships with education providers and the use of various formats for delivering education, I'm confident we can make great progress in this field.
For those doctors working with IPN who are studying for the FRACGP exam, especially for International Medical Graduates, may I recommend a website called www.gpexamsupport.com.au, hosted by a Brisbane GP, Dr Vin Tran. Dr Tran has been involved in helping IMGs and GP Registrars alike in gaining their FRACGP qualifications for eleven years and his website offers a great support programme in this regard.
It's probably worth giving a brief update on the PCEHR. As you will know, consumers can now register with Medicare to build their own PCEHR. As envisaged, both by the medical community and the architects of this system, the uptake by patients has been slow. At this stage, there isn't really a functioning programme as such but, to draw a medical analogy, the skeleton's there – it just needs fleshing out. We remain engaged in participating in the PCEHR but clearly there's quite a way to go before there's a usable facility. Nevertheless, we're working on IT solutions to ensure that we can participate in the PCEHR in line with the regulatory requirements.
At present, we're in the midst of our bi-annual GP panel meetings where we visit each state, talking to as many of our GPs as we can. I hope to meet many of you at these meetings and would encourage you to attend, if not the current round then the next, to have your say and to make sure you're informed about the progress of the company, the state of General Practice in Australia and initiatives we're planning to help you in the care of your patients and to enhance your practice.