Insights Sectors: Health

Meridian Lawyers acts for pharmacists in the sale and purchase of their pharmacy businesses.  Issues which arise in these transactions commonly include: the negotiation of the contract for sale of the business in order that the written contract reflects the wishes of the parties the obtaining of necessary approvals and consents (such as Pharmacy Council […]

Many pharmacy business owners are interested in becoming franchisees in order for them to trade with the benefit of national brand recognition, marketing power and tried and tested operating systems. However, it is crucial that pharmacists understand the content, substance and implications of the franchise documentation before they sign or make any non-refundable payment to […]

On 22 February 2018, mandatory data breach notification requirements were incorporated into the Privacy Act 1988 (Act) and now apply to all entities regulated by the Act. Typically, health service providers such as pharmacists will be bound by the Act irrespective of the size of their business, because they provide a health service and because […]

Expansion of a pharmacy may take place where the floor size of a pharmacy is increased, for example by expanding the pharmacy into adjacent premises. An example of contraction of a pharmacy would be where the floor size of a pharmacy decreases, perhaps because part of the pharmacy is surrendered back to a landlord, or […]

Recently passed amendments to the Health Administration Act 1982 (NSW)[1] have been celebrated by the NSW government as an improvement to the efficiency and timeliness of Root Cause Analysis systems in NSW health services organisations. The amendments come off the back of extensive consultation with stakeholders, including the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, Australian Medical […]

In a not uncontroversial decision by the Supreme Court of Victoria late last year, the doorway to statutory privilege over patient medical records – once thought previously unavailable to practitioners facing disciplinary proceedings in the original jurisdiction of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) – has been unlocked. Dr Kemp was the subject of […]

With national registration of paramedics set to commence later this year, paramedics should start to familiarise themselves with the obligations and responsibilities that come with national registration. As registered health practitioners, paramedics will be subject to the provisions of the Health Practitioner National Law (the National Law) and as such, will be subject to mandatory […]

On Friday 13 April 2018, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Health Council meeting of Australia’s health ministers unanimously agreed to amend the mandatory reporting laws in relation to registered health practitioners who seek treatment for impairments including mental health. Since the introduction of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, registered health practitioners and students […]

‘Hot tubbing’ expert witnesses has been a growing trend in the Victorian judicial system and particularly in the Supreme Court of Victoria, where it is advocated as an expedient and illuminating method of adducing expert evidence (in the appropriate circumstances). Now it seems this trend is expanding beyond its traditional use in the civil courts […]

Introduction The UK case involving Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba, a junior doctor convicted of manslaughter and subsequently struck off the UK medical register, is raising alarm in the international medical community. The case has sparked discussion among doctors around the world about the role of self-appraisals and highlighted the difficulties faced by junior clinicians working in […]

Most GPs experience infrequent offers of gifts from their patients over the course of their career. Occasional gifts of wine, home-cooked cakes, chocolates and flowers are commonplace in most GP clinics. However, some patients have a tendency to give gifts more frequently, or of greater commercial value, than others. This starts to pose difficult questions […]