Friday, 4 September 2026

Fast-track GP pathway uptake, Fairer funding for longer consults, National living menopause guideline

1. 01

   Expedited pathway used by half of overseas-trained GP applicants

   Almost half of overseas-trained GPs applying for specialist registration in Australia used the expedited pathway in 2025. From October 2024 to December 2025, 476 applications were granted, including 419 from GPs, while 46 specialist international medical graduates completed the requirements and received unconditional registration. Four in five applications were finalised within six weeks, at an estimated cost of around $8000. Although 88% of participants undertook supervised practice in Distribution Priority Areas and Districts of Workforce Shortage, only 11% worked in rural and remote areas, prompting the RACGP to argue that the distribution system had failed those communities. The evaluation found 90% of stakeholders would recommend the pathway and 82% reported a positive overall experience.

   via RACGP newsGP · also covered by The Medical Republic

2. 02

   Draft MBS reforms propose fairer funding for longer GP consults

   Medicare funding for longer and more complex GP consultations would become more equitable under draft reforms released for consultation as part of the MBS Review Advisory Committee’s review of primary care time-tiered items. The Time-Tiered Primary Care Working Group said the current per-minute fee gap incentivised shorter consultations and disadvantaged patients needing longer care and practitioners, particularly female GPs, who provide it. Its 23 recommendations included percentage-based bulk-billing incentives, a 6 pm start to after-hours arrangements, a higher-rate loading between 11 pm and 7 am, and a progressive move towards a single set of time-tiered items with provider-based modifiers. The RACGP welcomed the focus on longer consultations and general rather than disease-specific items, but noted that the draft did not specify new rebate amounts. Consultation remains open until 15 October, and implementing all recommendations could reduce time-tiered attendance items to fewer than 100.

   via RACGP newsGP · also covered by The Medical Republic

3. 03

   Australia funds first national living menopause guideline

   Australia will develop its first national living clinical guideline for perimenopause and menopause, backed by $2.9 million in Federal funding over three years from 2025–26. Led by the Australian Living Evidence Collaboration at Monash University, the two-year development process will involve peak health professional bodies, with the RACGP nominating a steering committee representative. The guideline will cover diagnosis, assessment and management of menopause and related symptoms, key long-term health considerations, and the early postmenopausal period. Draft recommendations will be released for public feedback, and the final guideline will be updated as new evidence emerges. The initiative follows a 2024 Senate inquiry that identified significant gaps in medical education about menopause and perimenopause.

   via RACGP newsGP

4. 04

   Ivonescimab extends survival versus pembrolizumab in Chinese lung cancer trial

   Ivonescimab helped Chinese trial participants with non-small cell lung cancer live longer than pembrolizumab, according to developers Akeso and Summit Therapeutics. The bispecific antibody targets both PD-1 and VEGF, while pembrolizumab targets PD-1. The companies did not disclose full results from the new data cut, with a presentation expected at a lung cancer conference later this month. The trial will not provide the main evidence for US approval, as the Food and Drug Administration wants outcomes from a global study in this setting, which are expected in 2028. The result also increased confidence in a separate trial comparing ivonescimab plus chemotherapy with pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy.

   via BioPharma Dive

5. 05

   Aedes aegypti found breeding in UK for first time

   Invasive Aedes aegypti mosquitoes have been found breeding in the UK for the first time after mosquitoes and larvae were detected at residential properties in east London. The species can transmit dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and Zika, but not malaria. The UK Health Security Agency increased surveillance and trapping activities following the discovery. It said the public risk remained low because, despite recent heatwaves, the UK climate was too cold for the species to survive long term. This was the fourth detection of Aedes aegypti in the UK in recent years, but the first involving confirmed breeding.

   via BMJ

6. 06

   Australian endometriosis hospitalisation rate rises 23% over decade

   Endometriosis-related hospitalisations rose from 17,600 in 2015–16 to 24,700 in 2024–25, while the rate increased 23% to 180 per 100,000 females, according to new AIHW data. This exceeded the 4.7% increase in the overall female hospitalisation rate during the decade. The first national figures on endometriosis procedures showed laparoscopic excision was used in 52% of related hospitalisations in 2024–25, with its use increasing 62.1% since 2015–16. About one in 10 endometriosis hospitalisations were emergency admissions, up from 7.8%, although the data did not capture all emergency department presentations or care. Private hospitals accounted for 71% of endometriosis hospitalisations involving a procedure in 2024–25, up from 66% a decade earlier.

   via The Medical Republic

MDDR is a news digest for medical professionals. It is not medical advice and should not be relied on for clinical decision-making.