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| Skin cancer clinics put to the test |
23-Mar-2006 |
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By Christina Anastasopoulos
SKIN cancer clinics are preparing to put themselves under the microscope to boost their credibility and attract extra MBS items, with the introduction of a clinical up-skilling certificate, practice accreditation and regular audits.
GPs working in skin cancer clinics have faced allegations of poor-quality work and over-servicing. The clinics have not had access to general practice accreditation because under the RACGP practice standards they are defined as a specialised area.
Discussions between the Skin Cancer Society of Australia and Australian General Practice Accreditation Limited are likely to result in the introduction of a two-pronged process.
Under the proposals, skin cancer clinic GPs will need to achieve certification through a 40-hour study program and a three-hour exam in areas including dermoscopy, diagnosis and treatment of common skin cancers and pre-cancerous conditions, and essential histopathology.
Once certified, GPs can then choose to undergo practice accreditation under standards devised by the Skin Cancer Society. The accreditation process is expected to be similar to the RACGP program for general practice, but with the added scrutiny of a self-audit during the three-year cycle that is checked by the society against reports from pathology labs to ensure the quality of work in each practice.
Skin Cancer Society president and GP Dr Peter Bourne believed a certification, accreditation and auditing process would reinstate patient faith in the clinics.
Once finalised, the standards will be submitted to AGPAL before it decides whether to accredit the clinics.
Dr Bourne said the certification course would cost about $2000 per GP, while accreditation would cost about $1500 per practice.
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