GPs in a Pod

In this episode Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Nim Cabraal, a gynaecological oncologist and surgeon at St Andrews Ipswich Private Hospital.Dr Cabraal has expertise in the management of gynaecological cancers and complex benign conditions, sharing insights into postmenopausal bleeding, cancer surveillance, and more. ResourcesMater: Guidelines for the Surveillance of Gynaecological MalignanciesGYON: A Guide to Gynaecological Oncology: What GPs need to know

If you missed our How to make Medicare reform work for you and your patients discussions in Toowoomba and Ipswich last week, catch up with this week's GPs in a Pod episode. Dr Jammal and Dr Meisinger (MD, MHCDS) returned to speak with Dr Tanusha, Dr Jo, and the PHN's Executive Director - Primary Care, Tim Keane.Our expert guests cover explaining MyMedicare to your patients, shifting to proactive care, lessons from the US primary care system transformation, and so much more.

To celebrate National Carers Week, Dr Tanusha spoke with Irene Clelland, who is the CEO of Arafmi - a “small but mighty” service that provides supports to mental health carers. They discuss Arafmi’s guide to working with carers, 24-hour support line, workshops, and respite accommodation for carers. They also speak about the warning signs for GPs around stress in carers. ResourcesArafmi: Working with Carers, Family and Kin24-hour Carer Support Line (1300 554 660)Arafmi: Carer Referral Form

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Healthdirect Australia CEO Bettina McMahon. They discuss Healthdirect Australia's role in the health system, My Aged Care, the importance of practices being listed in the National Health Services Directory, and the upcoming rebrand to 1800 MEDICARE, which will expand to include free, after-hours GP consultations.  ResourcesHealthdirect Australia: National Health Services Directory

In this episode, Tanusha speaks with Tracy Pickett, Legal & Policy Advisor at Avant. They discuss Artificial Intelligence (AI) Scribes; the benefits for GPs and patients, the risks around inaccuracy, data and security, and legal considerations.ResourcesAvant: AI: what you need to knowRACGP: AI scribesAhpra: Meeting your professional obligations when using Artificial Intelligence in healthcareDepartment of Health, Disability and Ageing: Digital scribesAvant: AI scribes and patient consentAvant: 3 ways AI medical scribes can benefit your practice (and how to pick the right one)Avant: AI scribes - a checklist of things to consider

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with OneBridge founder, Adjunct Associate Professor Sonia Martin.OneBridge's Homelessness Health Access Program provides access to primary care, including mental health support and warm referral, through a mobile outreach model in Toowoomba and Ipswich.Resources OneBridge: HomepageOneBridge: Referrals

In this episode, Anja Nikolic, CEO of the Australasian Institute of Digital Health, returns to the podcast to speak with Dr Tanusha. They discuss what's happening in digital health and at the Institute, and all things AI in healthcare. ResourcesAIDH: Digital Health 101AIDH: AI in Healthcare: EssentialsImplementation of AI scribes in healthcare workflows

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Cubiko CEO Chris Smeed. They discuss the Chronic Condition Management changes that came into effect from 1 July 2025.ResourcesCubiko: Resources to prepare for Chronic Condition ManagementCubiko: CCM FAQ

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Arianne Valerio, a neurologist with Metro South Health, and Michelle Stafford, formerly with Parkinson's Queensland.More than 44,000 Queenslanders are living with Parkinson's disease - a number that continues to rise as our population ages. They discuss diagnosis and motor symptoms, red flags, demographics and trends, referrals, management, and more.ResourcesParkinson's Queensland: Education & Training for Health ProfessionalsParkinson's Queensland: Referral Form

In this episode, Dr Tanusha and Dr Jo speak with Amara Brennan and Dr Nishanth Jayarajan from the West Moreton Health Eating Disorder Speciality Service. The service provides assessment, treatment, education, and secondary consultation for patients affected by eating disorders.ResourcesWest Moreton HealthPathways: Eating Disorder Referrals

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Robert Heffernan.Dr Heffernan is a GP and practice owner in Toowoomba, GP Career Guide, and the Clinical Lead for Griffith’s LongLook Program, which sees fourth year medical students undergo placements in rural placements across the Darling Downs. They discuss medical education and placements, student-patient relationships, and the benefits and challenges of medical student mentorship.ResourcesGeneral Practice Supervision AustraliaGriffith University: Rural Clinical SchoolUniversity of Queensland: Rural Clinical School

To end our Refugee Week series, Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Rachel Claydon. Clinically, Dr Claydon practices as a GP at the Mater’s Asylum Seeker GP Clinic working with people seeking asylum who have lodged an application for protection visa, but don’t yet have Medicare. Non-clinically, Dr Claydon is a GP SMO and Chair of the Queensland Clinical Advisory Group with the Refugee Health Network of Queensland, a statewide network that supports the provision of quality care to those with a refugee background. Dr Tanusha and Dr Claydon discuss the various Mater Refugee and Multicultural Health Service clinics, the nuances of treating patients with a refugee background, trauma recovery, catch-up immunisation, and more. ResourcesMater: Refugee and Multicultural HealthRefugee Health Network QueenslandMater: Multicultural Health Coordination ProgramRefugee Health Network Queensland: Clinical GuidelinesRefugee Health Network Queensland: Resources for CliniciansAustralian Government – Department of Home Affairs: How to make a FOI request

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Elizabeth Laverty, who is a Refugee Health Officer with Multicultural Australia, the leading humanitarian settlement provider in Queensland. Based in Toowoomba and Springfield, Multicultural Australia provides new arrivals with settlement services, such as housing, and access to education programs, training and employment assistance in the regions. Toowoomba is home to the largest community of Yazidi refugees outside of Europe, with over 6,000.ResourcesMulticultural Australia – Services Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Amale Hussein, a Refugee Health Nurse with Settlement Services International (SSI). Based in Goodna, Amale supports referred new arrival individuals and families in the Ipswich region to navigate the healthcare system. Amale speaks to the barriers that refugees face in healthcare, including cultural and language differences, and distrust of healthcare professionals due to prior experiences.With a refugee background herself, Amale also shares her journey to becoming a Refugee Health Nurse after arriving in Australia from Somalia with her family at the age of seven in 1998.ResourcesSettlement Services International

To kick off Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, Dr Tanusha was joined by Sophia Parker, who is a Health Promotion Officer for the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program with West Moreton Health.Sophia discusses the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, the free home test kits, the lowered eligible age for bowel screening, and more.ResourcesThe National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is free for people aged 45-74 years, who hold a current Medicare or DVA card. It is best suited to people who do not have any signs, symptoms, or a family history of bowel cancer. The program aims to reduce deaths from bowel cancer by detecting early signs of the disease using a faecal occult blood test (or iFOBT).Home Test Demo kits are available, for free, from the National Bowel for GPs to show patients the contents of the kit.In a recent study, published in the Lancet, March, 2025, the Faecal Immunochemical test-based screening program was found to be non-inferior to a colonoscopy-based program for colorectal cancer-related mortality.Healthcare providers can now bulk order and issue bowel screening kits directly to their eligible patients through the alternative access to kits model. This is in addition to the existing mail out model.Either the patient, or their GP on their behalf can ‘Request a free bowel test kit’ to be sent to their Medicare registered home address by completing the online form.Video: How to do the free testFlowchart: Bowel cancer screening for your patientKey contactsWest Moreton Health and Darling Downs Health are offering lunchtime education sessions to GP practices in the region.This includes information about the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and a step-by-step guide on how to implement the Alternative Access to kits model to enable GPs to issue Home Test Kits directly to their patients.Certificate of attendance will be provided if GPs want to use this to self -report CPD hours for the session.West Moreton: WMCancerScreeningHPO@health.qld.gov.auDarling Downs: Claire.condon@health.qld.gov.au

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Claire Fotheringham, who is a Senior Medical Officer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology with Queensland Health. QVEMToPS is a statewide virtual service delivered by the Queensland Virtual Hospital. It provides eligible women and pregnant people across Queensland with access to an early medical termination of pregnancy up to 9 weeks (63 days) gestation.Visit the QVEMToPS site to refer a patient or to check eligibility.

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Candice Holland and Paula Hale, who are members of Metro North Health's Sexual Health team.They discuss the services of the first Nurse Navigator for Sexual Health, based within the Queensland Syphilis Surveillance Service (QSSS).Located at the Metro North Public Health Unit, but responsible for southern Queensland, the QSSS enables accurate monitoring of syphilis infections and contributes to the clinical management of people infected with syphilis by providing support for the clinicians who treat them.ResourcesQueensland Clinical Guidelines - Syphilis and pregnancyQueensland Syphilis Action Plan 2023 – 2028 OverviewFor further information or to seek support, advice, or referrals to the Nurse Navigator, primary care professionals are encouraged to contact the QSSS on 1800 032 238 or email QLD-Syphilis-Surveillance-Service@health.qld.gov.au.

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Danielle Pentony, who is the Chief Information Security Officer at the Australian Digital Health Agency. They discuss cyber security and what it means in the context of primary care, and why its essential for protecting patient data and ensuring the resilience of healthcare services.ResourcesFor everyone:Cyber security for digital health privacyFor practices:Small business | Cyber.gov.auCyber security for healthcare providersCyber security training and support Cyber security fundamentals Cyber security awarenessCyber Outreach ProgramUplifting hygiene of small and medium businesses through their Cyber Champions Network - which is a community of healthcare professionals who choose to come together to foster a security conscious healthcare ecosystem. Launched in mid-August 2024, the Cyber Champions Network is a program aimed at enhancing cyber capability within Australia’s healthcare system, including fostering an informed and resilient healthcare workforce.  The Agency is also working towards strengthening current information sharing practices for sharing of cyber threat information with the healthcare community. This will support an uplift in cyber knowledge and awareness in the healthcare community by enabling knowledge sharing with trusted peak bodies and health organisations. The Agency actively monitors potential cyber security risks through their dedicated Cyber Security Team and sends out alerts and advice regarding relevant threats to the health sector: Digital Health Cyber Security Alerts.Basic Cyber Security Training to help practices understand the concepts of cyber security and the fundamentals for better cyber hygiene: DHSA2023 | DigitalHealth

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Director and Occupational and Environmental Physician at ⁠Phoenix Occupational Medicine⁠, Dr Sid O'Toole.As a Medical Specialist, Dr O'Toole is an industry leader, always seeking opportunities to make improvements in the occupational health and safety space.Dr Tanusha and Dr O'Toole discuss the relationship between GPs and Occupational and Environmental Physicians in supporting patients to return to work, and preventing work-related injuries and illnesses.

In this episode, Dr Tanusha speaks with Dr Ben Brimblecombe, who is a Public Health Registrar at the Darling Downs Public Health Unit, about an increased incidence of JE across the region, and the importance of mosquito prevention.ResourcesEligibility: Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) vaccination centres | Queensland Health Prevention: Japanese encephalitis | Health and wellbeing | Queensland Government