General practice quick updates for week beginning 16 March 2026
Updates for the week beginning Monday 16 March 2026.
Find this week’s quick updates and alerts for local general practices, covering the latest sector developments, education and training events, key health system updates, funding opportunities and clinical resources relevant to our region.
For more information or tailored practice support, contact our Primary Care team at [email protected].
Influenza Immunisation Webinar
Join the Queensland Health Immunisation Program (QHIP) for a live webinar on influenza.
Dr Stephen Lambert, Public Health Physician from Queensland Health, will discuss:
the free Influenza vaccination program in Queensland for 2026 including age-appropriate vaccines
administration and eligibility for Intranasal live attenuated vaccine (LAIV; FluMist®)
changes to the 2026 influenza formulations and dosing
influenza disease and prevention, with an overview of epidemiology, vaccine effectiveness, and practical considerations for immunisation providers
key clinical resources and FAQs to support providers and improve vaccination coverage in their communities.
Following the presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session with Dr Lambert and the QHIP team – bring your questions!
Webinar details:
📅 Thursday 26 March 2026 | 7:30 am to 8:30 am (AEST)
📍 This is an online event (Microsoft Teams)
Meeting ID: 450 654 986 051 23
Passcode: mt6MV7WU
Please feel free to share this invite with colleagues involved in immunisation delivery.
If you are unable to attend the webinar, a recording will be made available as soon as possible on the Queensland Health website. Previous QHIP webinar recordings are also accessible on this page.
New self-paced activity to help manage patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Brisbane South PHN has released a new self-paced quality improvement (QI) activity designed to support general practices who want to strengthen the diagnosis and ongoing management of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through the strategic use and documentation of spirometry.
This QI activity will help your practice identify 10 patients with COPD who are missing a recorded spirometry result. Through the activity, practices can then ensure results are documented or patients are recalled for spirometry.
Accurate spirometry results are essential for:
confirming COPD diagnosis
guiding treatment decisions
reducing the risk of potentially preventable hospitalisations.
Contact the General Practice Quality Improvement team if you would like more information on this activity via [email protected] .
The success of self-collection in Australia’s cervical screening program
A study published last month in The Lancet Public Health (a trusted online source of health knowledge) found that since Australia expanded universal access to self-collection for cervical screening in 2022, participation among under-screened groups has risen sharply. Self-collection uptake grew from 1.2% in early 2022 to 26.9% by late 2023, with the highest rates among:
people overdue for more than 10 years (51.9%)
those in very remote (53.9%) or disadvantaged areas (≤29.1%)
people aged 70–74 (33.5%).
Australia remains the first country to offer self-collection as an equal option to clinician-collected tests within our national screening program.
Interested in increasing your knowledge about the National Cervical Screening Program through accredited CPD?
Take part in our self-paced cervical screening quality improvement (QI) activity and empower your practice to achieve higher cervical screening rates.
View cervical screening guidelines and resources for health professionals from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
For support contact the General Practice Quality Improvement team via [email protected].
Priority disaster and emergency register — Expressions of interest now open
Brisbane South PHN are establishing a priority disaster and emergency register for general practitioners (GPs) and general practices in our region. Participation is voluntary, and responding during a disaster will also be at your discretion.
For example, during a disaster we may reach out to you when residents seeking shelter at evacuation centres require primary health assistance, or where there are workforce shortages in impacted areas.
Interested in registering?
Contact [email protected] with your name and contact details and we will give you a call to confirm your enrolment as well as answering any questions you may have.