GP ASK

GP ASK is a clinician-to-clinician service supporting general practitioners across Western Australia to access advice from a WA Health hospital specialist to deliver timely, high-quality patient care, for non-urgent conditions.

The service is available to all Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) registered doctors currently working in a general practice setting in Western Australia.

GP ASK

There are currently 2 options to receive advice:

1. Written advice within 5 business days: a hospital specialist will review your request and prepare a written clinical advice summary, which will be sent to your practice via secure messaging (HealthLink) or eFAX.
2. Virtual case discussion (VCD): a VCD is a scheduled discussion of a request between a GP and a hospital specialist, with the option to include the patient (except for general paediatrics). All VCDs are followed up with a written clinical advice summary within 5 business days. VCDs are booked through the GP ASK platform and facilitated securely via healthdirect.

GP ASK is a pilot service funded by the WA Government and the Department of Health. The department is collecting confidential GP and patient feedback via surveys to assist with evaluating the pilot and allow for continued improvement of the service.

Benefits

• fast advice provided by a hospital specialist
• care closer to home for regional patients
• may reduce the need for a referral to hospital
• may avoid patients waiting to be seen in hospital
• advice provided will be added to patient’s medical records, both in the hospital and in the GP setting
• available to all Western Australian residents, no Medicare card necessary.

GP resources

• GP quick guide
• GP flyer
• GP FAQs (including the inclusion and exclusion criteria) (external site)

GP ASK specialties and clinical leads

GP ASK is staffed by hospital specialists from WA hospitals, covering:

• respiratory medicine
• cardiology
• general paediatrics.

The clinical leads for each specialty are:

Respiratory medicine
	Dr Su Lyn Leong Dr Su Lyn Leong is a Consultant Respiratory Physician at Rockingham General Hospital and an Acute Medical Physician at Royal Perth Hospital. She is also the clinical lead for the future Acute Medical Unit as part of the Royal Perth Hospital Emergency Department redevelopment, helping design services that meet the changing needs of patients and the WA health system. Alongside her clinical practice, she has a strong interest in service innovation and developing models of care that improve access, patient experience and the way care is delivered across the health system.  Her experience in outpatient has reinforced her belief that many patients benefit most when specialist expertise is delivered differently and that there is an opportunity to better bridge the gap between primary and specialist care This underpins her role within GP ASK, not just as the Respiratory Clinical lead, but also as a Respiratory physician delivering this new service.
Cardiology
	Prof. Girish Dwivedi Professor Girish Dwivedi holds the Chair in Cardiology at UWA and has been a Consultant Cardiologist at Fiona Stanley Hospital since 2017. He is a cardiac imaging specialist and Director of the Cardiometabolic Clinic at FSH. He leads the CardioInnovate Translational Lab, Western Australia, and heads the APEX Lab Group at the Harry Perkins Institute. His research applies artificial intelligence to cardiovascular clinical and translational science. He has published more than 300 peer-reviewed papers.
General paediatrics
	Dr Selina Lim Dr Selina Lim is a General Paediatric Consultant at Perth Children’s Hospital and Clinical Lead for the GP ASK Paediatric clinical advice service. She is a dual-trained specialist in General Paediatrics and Paediatric Infectious Diseases, with more than 13 years of experience across tertiary and regional paediatric services in Western Australia. Her areas of expertise and special interests include medical education and global health, having volunteered in Uganda and Tanzania.

 

More information

To learn more, meet participating specialists, or arrange a practice visit or virtual briefing, contact doh.gpask@health.wa.gov.au.