Medical Specialist Outreach Assistance Program (MSOAP)

Overview of the Program

The Medical Specialist Outreach Assistance Program (MSOAP) was established as a mechanism for improving the health outcomes for rural Australians by increasing access to medical specialists services.

The program aims to improve the access of regional, rural and remote communities to medical specialist services.

The objectives of the program are to:

  • Increase visiting specialist services in areas of identified need
  • Support medical specialists to provide outreach medical services in rural areas
  • Facilitate visiting specialist and local health professional relationships and communication about ongoing patient care
  • Increase and maintain the skills of regional, rural and remote health professionals in accordance with local need

Current MSOAP funded outreach services currently operating in the Far North Queensland Rural Division of General Practice are:

Dermatology - Kowanyama, Pormpuraaw, Aurukun, Lockhardt River, Torres Strait, Thursday Island, Bamaga, Cooktown, Hopevale, Mapoon, Napranum
Gynaecology - Innisfail
General Surgery - Innisfail
Psychiatry - Weipa


Simman Workshops

SimMan is a human patient simulator that is funded by the MSOAP program. Far North Queensland Rural Division of General Practice in conjunction with Queensland Division of General Practice has run successful workshops utilising the SimMan patient simulator.

Simulation workshops present participants with a number of common and realistic critical care scenarios including cardiac, respiratory or trauma emergencies and challenge them to think on their feel, perform some critical care procedures and to manage the team and resources around them. Workshops take place in regional, rural and remote communities in locations such as local hospitals or GPs own practices. Simulation training gives GPs the confidence to manage emergency situations using their own equipment in their own clinical environment.

The objective of the workshops is to provide education and up-skilling to GPs based on each local area’s needs. Each workshop has been developed in consultation with specialists and GPs.

For further information regarding SimMan workshops please contact Isabel Mazgay at the Division office on (07)4096 5046 or email eso@fnqrdgp.org.au.

Tele-Derm Project

Tele-Derm is an online resource designed primarily for rural and remote GPs interested in obtaining practical advice on the diagnosis and management of skin disease in general practice.

Everyone who enrols in Tele-Derm is able to access the growing list of online case studies, education opportunities, recommended links and discussion forums. A dermatologist, who will gladly answer any questions asked of him, moderates these discussion forums.

Tele-Derm also allows rural doctors to electronically submit specific de-identified cases for assessment by a dermatologist. These cases are then made available as case studies for all interested rural general practitioners.

This project is the result of a collaboration between Queensland Division of General Practice, the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and Dr Jim Muir (Dermatologist) and is funded under the MSOAP program. Further information regarding Tele-derm can be found at the Tele-Derm website www.tele-derm.com or by contacting Lindsey Bryden at the Division office on (07) 4096 5046.