Doctor Andrew Pluta

Dr Pluta is a GP (General Practitioner), working at the Toombul Medical Centre. he has been here full time since July 2011.

]Previously, he worked in is own practices for about six years at Camp Hill, Brisbane after having worked at a small suburban practice in Holland Park since August 1988, about 17 years.

Due to his years working for himself, he do and can do pretty well anything most GPs would be expected to do. He chose pretty early to do General Practice in his career, like most of his GP compatriots due to the interesting things that can be done in medicine in General Practice Medical Work. Dr Pluta picked all training terms that really boost your understanding of this type of work such as Paediatrics, Psychiatry, Emergency, General Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Addiction Medicine, a General Practice Term and a Geriatric Term.

He works with all aspects of general practice, especially including children’s health, skin cancer, skin cancer surgery, men’s health, and women’s health.

Much of this training and experience has served him well for his career, especially the terms he spent looking after kids, the elderly, psychiatric patients and in caring for patients with addiction problems. He relates that he cannot thank his supervisors enough for getting him all the training he needed throughout his career.

Nowadays, while he does a lot of “General” Practice work, he is also a registered prescriber for patients on management programs for Methadone, Subutex and Suboxone. Safety first for these patients is important, but to work in this area you need some empathy with these patients as well. A lot of people have difficulty with this. For a group of people with problems with a terrible outlook untreated, he is adamant that you can make a significant difference in people’s lives.

He has done the prescribers course in HIV medicine, and attained a qualification in 2014. While qualified for HIV work, most of his work in the area of HIV relates to good care of patients for PREP related issues. . Dr Pluta does prescribe HIV medicines. These need to be prescribed by specialist prescribers, such as himself - an S100 qualified GP.

Dr Pluta has qualifications allowing him to treat patients with drug problems, hepatitis C and HIV. He is able to look after patients and to prescribe scripts for patients with these complex problems. He also has a subspecialty interest in ear problems in children and in ear problems in people who fly .

He operates a tympanogram which is essential in allowing assessment of middle ear problems as are common in children , in diving and in flying.

He once did some work in the chronic fatigue area and has opted to not continue with this type of medical work.

A Past Life

Dr Andrew Pluta is a medical practitioner who is a self-taught builder, project manager with extensive experience with federal government care projects.

He has extensive medical experience and is familiar with medical project work with patients as a result of his years of medical work. Medical knowledge is critical for working with members of the community.

Andrew has been extensively involved in government funding submissions in the Divisions of General Practice. He was President of Brisbane South Central Divisions of General Practice (now known as Brisbane South Division) and Medical Director of Brisbane Inner South Division of General Practice (now incorporated into Sea GP Division of General Practice).

The divisional structures were supplanted by the Medicare Locals, and hence by nothing. It would seem both state and federal government commitment to primary care in General Practice is largely hot air, he has found.

This has required writing and communications skills in the development of applications for funding, and management skills in running a Qango organisation ( The divisions of general practice) at the same time as working in a busy successful suburban medical practice.

Andrew has a range of general skills and interests. Notably:

• Photography
• Text writing, formatting and layout- in presentations
• Building work and building repairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brief Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Andrew Pluta

He studied at the University of Queensland Medical School at Herston in Brisbane, graduating in Medicine (MBBS). He has practised as a Registered General Medical Practitioner, working in Brisbane Practices since 1988.

Registered Medical Practitioner working in a Brisbane Practice 1988-2019 +

Positions:

I have been involved with a substantial number of organisations in the health sector. The bulk of my work outside my practice is with the Divisions of General Practice. The Divisions of General practice are predominantly government-funded organisations involved in the delivery of health services both to the general practitioner community and to the general population. I have had a substantial role in the programs delivering these health services.

* Chairman of Brisbane Southside Central Division of General Practice 1993-7, 1998-9

Vice President Brisbane Southside Central Division of General Practice 1997-1998

* Board Member Brisbane Inner South Division of General Practice 1995-2001

Vice President Brisbane Inner South Division of General Practice 1997-1998

* Secretary Brisbane Inner South Division of General Practice 1998-2001

* Medical Director Brisbane Inner South Division of General Practice 1998-1999

Other roles include:

* RACGP QLD Faculty Board member 1995-9 (Royal Australian college of General Practitioners).

* Member Brisbane City Counter Disaster Reference Group

* Workplace Health and Safety Committee Advisor 1997(RACGP/ AMA /DIV GP)

* Member QEMSAC (Qld Emergency Services Advisory Committee: First Aid, 1998-2000)

* Southside Local Medical Association 1994-6

* Assessor: Demonstration Trials in Standards and Accreditation in General Practice. 1995, 1998-2000

* Served On South Brisbane Regional Health Authority General Practice Liaison Community Integration Committee and Subcommittees

His experience in these organisations has been in the development; write up, budgeting and management of health service delivery projects. He has been instrumental in winning large scale competitive funding for projects over his career in these organisations.

Project Applications cover experiences in a number of diverse areas relevant to the health sector. For example

* Stroke Support: 

Training volunteers to assist in stroke victim care, development of a stroke video currently marketed nationally

* Data Mining In General Practice: 

Gathering data, analysing trends and formulating appropriate health care interventions

* Co-Author: Partnerships Project in Asthma: 

Identifying asthma patients and encouraging best practice treatment, currently marketed nationally through Glaxo-Welcome,

* Diabetes Pathways: 

Identifying treatment change points in the care of diabetic patients and implementing appropriate changes Dr Pluta authored this government submission for changing the care of diabetes patients in Australia.

* Illicit Drugs Strategy: Involving General practitioners in the care of drug users.

* Hospital Upskilling: Developing training programs for GPs.
This project introduced drug education into schools using experienced GPs trained to give education to high school age young adults.

* IT Demonstration Site: 

Developing the availability of a site to demonstrate the use of medical software programs.

The work in these areas has involved substantial marketing to GPs, running functions for GPs and contact with the interests and problems of many service providers in the health sector.

Dr Pluta has been involved with a substantial number of organisations in the health sector over the years. He has worked with The Divisions of General Practice, has served on the RACGP Queensland Faculty Board, QEMSAC: the Queensland Emergency Services Advisory Committee and has been involved in Standards and Accreditation in General Practice.

Quote:

I believe in listening to people and in understanding them. I’ve always tried to do the best for people and to be an advocate for them in the health system. However people have the right to make their own choices about their own health. There are many reasons why people make choices and I see my role as helping people to see what can be done. I have always been fairly pragmatic and realistic about what can be done and believe in only promising people what you can deliver. Getting good health care can be daunting for people to find, but I believe in trying to make the experience a pleasant one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Links to related Sites

https://www.webworker.net.au

https://www.toombuldoc.com

https://www.dddocs.com.au

https://www.swansong.net.au