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A Roadmap for AI in Healthcare – Advance Health

19 May 2023

Advance Health met on 12th May for a discussion on the emerging role of AI in Healthcare. The session explored the opportunities in utilising the power of AI to drive innovation from provider to patient, reviewing the potential applications as well as the barriers that need to be…

Medicare Legal Issues in Bulk Billing produced by Leo Cussen Centre for Law

21 Apr 2023

The legal consequences for health professionals when incorrectly bulk billing can range from simple error through to misconduct findings, that can impact the right to practise medicine.

In this free seminar, presented by Dr Margaret Faux (Founder & CEO of Synapse Medical S…

Medicare Fraud – ABC News episode

8 Apr 2023

ABC News interviews Dr Pradeep Philip about the findings of his review into Medicare.
Aired on the 4th April 2023.

Watch video episode – Medicare ‘no longer fit for purpose’ amid widespread fraud (available until April 18, 2023 on ABC’s iview)

Listen to the audio transcr…

A landmark report into Medicare estimates non-compliance losses of up to $3 billion a year

4 Apr 2023

Investigative journalist and columnist Adele Ferguson discusses the recent independent report on Medicare by Dr Pradeep Philip in her opinion piece published in The Sydney Morning Herald, Medicare review blows apart the AMA’s ‘nothing to see here’ argument.

Philip’s re…

Medicare is once again in the spot light

4 Apr 2023

Medicare is once again in the spot light after an independent review by health economist Dr Pradeep Philip found the structural issues within Medicare system could lead to significant levels of fraud. He says Medicare is needs urgent reform and estimates up to $3 billion a year i…

ABC interview with Dr Margaret Faux, discussing Medicare compliance and GPs

16 Mar 2023

Watch Dr Margaret Faux on live TV ABC News channel, March 2023, discussing Medicare compliance and GPs.

 …

Synapse is delighted to announce that we are leading a national project to develop the non-admitted patient classification for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia across 9 clinical streams

16 Mar 2023

Synapse Medical Services is delighted to announce that we are leading a national project to develop the non-admitted patient classification for the #Kingdom of Saudi Arabia across 9 clinical streams.

Project Team: P…

Arab Health 2023

27 Feb 2023

The end of January marked Synapse Medical Services 7th annual Arab Health conference in Dubai (home to one of our wholly owned offices), hosted at the Dubai World Trade Centre by Informa.

The 2023 edition was the 48th Arab Health Medical Expo, which has grown into one of the l…

Annette Panzera – Government and Corporate Relations Director

17 Feb 2023

We are delighted to announce Annette Panzera as our new Director Of Government and Corporate Relations at Synapse Medical Services.

Annette Panzera will be based out of our #Dubai office. Annette is an experienced health economist and policy advisor passionate about impro…

Synapse Connect December 2022 – So here it is, the end of another year!

20 Dec 2022

So here it is, the end of another year!
Welcome to our final update for 2022. It’s been a big year!

We have continued to improve our two software products – Aircoder and the Synapps MBS – and are excited to share that a completely new version of the app is currently in …

Medical Republic article – Medicare belongs to the Australian people

18 Oct 2022

In the 11th October 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Dr. Margaret Faux discusses Toby Chambers’ case against Medicare for denying him a Medicare rebate. Chambers lost his case on technical grounds, but this story is a powerful wakeup call that shifting costs to the consum…

HL7 and openEHR, better together

3 Oct 2022

In the article, HL7 and openEHR are friends, not foes (published by Wild Health 28th September 2022), Professor Heather Grain discusses data systems HL7 and openEHR and the key advantages of using them together for a more coordinated healthcare data delivery system.

“These two…

Medical Republic article – Three little words…

28 Sep 2022

In the 27th September 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Dr. Margaret Faux discusses the case of Dalima Pty Ltd v Commonwealth of Australia (New South Wales Supreme Court, Unreported, 22 October 1987), where the central issue for determination was the meaning of the three wor…

Medical Republic article – What do you do when neither Medicare nor your MDO has a clue?

15 Sep 2022

In the 13th September 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Dr. Margaret Faux discusses Item 132 and 133 recently targeted by the Department of Health and the confusion surrounding use of these items with timing and setting.

“The initiative was a perfect example of how no one…

Bulk-Billing Primary Health Clinic

6 Sep 2022

A consultancy project that Synapse has undertaken in 2022 has been to work closely with a bulk-billing primary health clinic that services a challenging population with complex needs.

Synapse was contracted, in a multi-phase project, to explore ways to ensure the future viabil…

Medical Republic article – Where is your health data now?

1 Sep 2022

In the 30th August 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Dr. Margaret Faux discusses the use of codes and data storage and the challenges faced to keep sensitive patient health information secure.

“Keeping health data secure, while also allowing it to exit bricks and mortar b…

Medical Republic article – Medicare reform needs to be led by experts who understand the whole system

18 Aug 2022

In the 16 August 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Dr. Margaret Faux discusses the inaccuracies in an opinion piece in MJA Insight written by two psychiatrists, about the use of MBS codes.

“As the only Australian with a PhD on Medicare claiming and compliance, I am used t…

Symptom-based Syndromic Surveillance, UAE

15 Aug 2022

Synapse is involved in an ongoing international stakeholder consultancy project focussed on AI enabled early detection of pathogens to enable countries to quickly ringfence and contain outbreaks of diseases such as Covid-19 before they become widespread.

Aircoder, our automate…

Medical Republic article – The international language of SNOMED

4 Aug 2022

In the 2 August 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Dr. Margaret Faux discusses the international language of SNOMED and how it can make our data meaningful and precise without clinicians needing to change a thing.

Clinicians use different words to describe the same things …

Synapse Connect July 2022

25 Jul 2022

Dear Synapse Network,

Welcome to our belated first newsletter for 2022, and boy is there a lot to update!

If there is one positive that’s come out of the ongoing Covid pandemic for us, it is that it has allowed us a period of consolidation and internal development, includ…

Medical Republic article – Australia’s health system still in the traveller’s cheque phase

21 Jul 2022

In the 19 July 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Dr Margaret Faux discusses that without the adoption of the international standard health information model, portable medical information still means carrying around pieces of paper.

“To get Australia’s health system out …

Advance Health Care Dubai 2022

20 Jul 2022

We’ve been receiving great coverage of our recent Data Driven Care Advance Health event in Dubai, featuring our CEO, Dr Margaret Faux & Business Development Director, Thom Soutter.

The event took place on Wednesday 22nd June at Dubai Science Park. Our CEO, Dr Margaret Fa…

COVID MBS items Explainer and FAQs, No. 64, 18 July 2022

18 Jul 2022

Dear Doctors and Health Care Workers

Hot off the press there are two new covid telephone item numbers for GPs which will commence tomorrow, and we also have an update about the 80/20 rule.

First the two new GP items.

We received an updated MBS file late this afternoon an…

Medical Republic article – Reform before rebate rise

8 Jul 2022

In the 5 July 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Dr Margaret Faux discusses why she believes we need Medicare reform before rebates can rise.

“So, what we have is a failed policing system where some very good clinicians are having their lives destroyed for unintentionally …

COVID MBS items Explainer and FAQs, No. 63, 07 July 2022

7 Jul 2022

Dear Doctors and Health Care Workers

Just a quick update.

As we flagged in Bulletin 62, the department made an error last week, which is has now corrected.

Items 91834, 91835, 92431 and 92432 have now been officially removed from the MBS.

The 30/20 rule still has not …

Article by Adele Ferguson on the big losses of tax payer’s money from billing errors through Medicare system

5 Jul 2022

In the July 4, Financial Review opinion piece, Medicare fraud, errors are costing $7b a year, by Adele Ferguson, Dr Margaret Faux is interviewed about the billing errors of medical practitioners through Medicare system amounting to losses of billions of dollars a year.

Read th…

COVID MBS items Explainer and FAQs, No. 62, 01 July 2022

1 Jul 2022

Dear Doctors and Health Care Workers

Unsurprisingly, there was another 11th hour change announced late yesterday, and we have had a few excellent questions overnight. First though the announcement.

The Federal Health Minister, the Hon Mark Butler MP, has decided to postpone…

Synapse Coding Manager chosen as the co-chair for openEHR International Education Program Board.

1 Jul 2022

Congratulations to our digital health expert and coding manager, Heather Grain, who has been elected as co-chair for the openEHR international Education Program Board.

Heather has years of practical and strategic leadership in EHR and terminology design and development. A long…

COVID MBS items Explainer and FAQs, No. 61, 30 June 2022

30 Jun 2022

Dear Doctors and Health Care Workers

We have waited till the last minute to send this bulletin, and we’re glad we did because a revised 1 July MBS file landed in our inbox at 4.50pm today. Ten minutes before the official EOFY! Take a moment to think about that and what it me…

Medical Republic article – Impenetrable codes and bad ‘official’ advice

22 Jun 2022

In the 21 June 2022 article for the Medical Republic, Margaret Faux discusses how doctors are vulnerable to misinterpretation of the Medicare billing system, and incorrect advice from the DOH doesn’t help to clarify Medicare’s complex system of laws.

“In the absence of nat…