Ahpra launches podcast about vexatious notifications

27 Nov 2019

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) has today released an important podcast that takes an in-depth look at vexatious notifications.

Episode one: Vexatious notifications, takes a deeper dive into a subject of concern for many health practitioners who fear that wrong motives could provoke a patient or colleague to report them to the regulator inappropriately.

Host Susan Biggar speaks with Associate Professor Marie Bismark at University of Melbourne, Kate Griggs, a health consumer advocate and member of Ahpra’s consumer reference group, Dr Sara Bird, manager of medico-legal and advisory services at MDA National, and National Director of Notifications for Ahpra, Matthew Hardy.

This episode talks about the defining characteristics of vexatious notifications and how common they are. It also looks at the impact they have on practitioners and explores how the regulator is working to identify, respond  and manage vexatious notifications.

Ahpra CEO Martin Fletcher says the podcast is a continuation of the work Ahpra and the National Boards have been doing to improve the notifications experience for notifiers, practitioners and their support people, and to make information about notifications accessible to a broader range of people.

‘We know that being the subject of a notification is often very stressful for a practitioner. While the numbers are small, we recognise that the impact of a vexatious notification is very significant for the practitioner,’ he said.

This podcast is the first in an exciting series that is currently in development to provide greater insight into the work of health practitioner regulation and information about key health care concerns.

For more information

• For more information about the podcast: communications@ahpra.gov.au
• For media enquiries: 03 8708 9200
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 8708 9009 (overseas callers).