PSA screening for prostate cancer has reversed from “not routinely recommended,
even for high-risk men” to a risk-based offer from age 50/45/40 (RACGP Red Book 10th
edition, 2024). See Screening and mens-health’s
Prostate Cancer & PSA Screening.
Vaping/e-cigarette regulation changed substantially since 2020 — TGA reforms in
three stages (disposable-vape import ban, 1 Jan 2024; national pharmacy-only supply
framework, 1 Jul 2024; low-nicotine vapes available from a pharmacist without a
prescription, 1 Oct 2024). RACGP places vaping as a second-line cessation aid, not
first-line. See Smoking Cessation.
Bowel cancer screening: current NBCSP biennial iFOBT program, age lowered to 45 in
July 2024.
Breast density notification is now national policy (BreastScreen Australia’s
Nov 2024 position statement) — women are informed in writing of their
mammographic density, and a Nov 2025 GP guidance document stratifies screening
interval and supplemental imaging by density × RACGP family-history risk
category, not density alone (some women move to yearly screening; dense
breasts at moderate risk need a calculated absolute risk via iPrevent/Tyrer-Cuzick
to test MBS-funded MRI eligibility). See
Screening and womens-health’s
Breast Cancer & Screening.
New pages added
Abscess Incision & Drainage
(2026-09-01) — recognition and differentiation from cellulitis, when to
refer instead of draining bedside (perirectal/periareolar, neck,
technically difficult sites), technique, packing vs no packing, the loop
technique and why needle aspiration is not a substitute, and when
adjunctive antibiotics are appropriate after drainage.
Local Anaesthesia (2026-09-01) —
agent choice (lidocaine vs bupivacaine/ropivacaine), AMH maximum doses
with and without adrenaline, when adrenaline is contraindicated (penile
block) vs used with caution (digits/ears/nose), true allergy vs the far
more common vasoconstrictor reaction, and recognising and responding to
local anaesthetic systemic toxicity (LAST).
Wound Assessment & Laceration Repair
— acute traumatic wounds in general practice and urgent care: examining
nerve and tendon function before local anaesthetic, foreign-body risk by
mechanism, irrigation volumes, AMH maximum local-anaesthetic doses
(lidocaine 3 mg/kg, or 7 mg/kg with adrenaline), choosing between sutures,
staples, tissue adhesive and strips, the wounds that should not be closed
at all, the Australian Immunisation Handbook tetanus-prophylaxis table, and
when prophylactic antibiotics are actually indicated.
Falls in Older People —
annual fall-risk screening thresholds and the current ACSQHC (2025)
risk-tiered intervention pathway, gait/balance office tests, the Cochrane
exercise-for-falls evidence (23% reduction in fall rate), medication
review, vitamin D dosing, and post-fall assessment. Split out of
Common Clinical Conditions in Aged Care,
whose Falls section was un-cited OneNote-cleanup content, and rewritten
against evidence.
Chronic Non-Cancer Pain & Opioid Stewardship
— a GP-focused opioid-prescribing page: non-opioid therapies first, the
100 mg oral-morphine-equivalent (OME) daily ceiling for GP prescribing,
the 5As monitoring framework, NSW Schedule 8 authority requirements,
take-home naloxone criteria, and stepwise tapering/deprescribing regimens.
Distinct from Opioids, which covers opioid
overdose, withdrawal and dependence treatment.
Preventive Activities & Health Assessments by Age
— the MBS health-assessment item family (701–707/224–227): the time-tiered
fee structure, the six funded population cohorts (45–49 at-risk, 40–49
Type 2 Diabetes Risk Evaluation, 75+ Older Person’s Health Assessment,
residential aged care, intellectual disability, refugees/humanitarian
entrants), and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Assessment
(item 715). Distinct from Screening, which
owns the disease-specific cancer/CVD/osteoporosis screening programs.
Fitness to Drive (Austroads)
— the national Austroads framework: private vs commercial licence
standards, conditional licences, the GP’s assessment/reporting process,
and which jurisdictions (only NT and SA) impose a mandatory reporting
duty on doctors. Cross-listed in cardiology, neurology and ophthalmology;
see Vision & Fitness to Drive
for the visual acuity/field standards in full.
Deprescribing & Polypharmacy
— why inappropriate polypharmacy (not medicine count alone) is the target,
prescribing-cascade recognition, matching the stopping method (outright
cessation vs gradual taper) to a drug’s withdrawal risk, and a worked
PPI-deprescribing example (gradual taper or PRN switch, and why abrupt
stopping causes rebound acid hypersecretion mistaken for relapse).
Medical Certificates, Workers Comp & Return to Work
— writing a certificate that names the diagnosis and functional impact
rather than just an outcome, when an employer can lawfully question a
certificate or require an independent medical assessment, and specifying
modified capacity rather than defaulting to blanket unfitness on a
workers’ compensation certificate. The NSW SIRA Certificate of Capacity’s
specific form/timeframe rules are not yet covered — general national
principles only; see the workstream log for what’s still needed.