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Morgan Liotta
Morgan Liotta
The Government is reminding practices to register for the new initiative to ensure ‘critical safeguards’ from scam messages.
This week’s In Practice also includes details about the shortage of nicorandil tablets until next year, and two RACGP Specific Interests webinars on dementia causes and heart health for patients on ADHD medication.
 
Register SMS sender IDs before 1 July 2026
As part of the Australian Government’s Fighting Scams initiative, an SMS Sender ID Register is being implemented, providing critical safeguards to protect from scam messages that impersonate legitimate organisations.
 
This change will affect health services that rely on SMS to communicate with patients, such as appointment reminders, test results, prescription updates, and urgent health alerts.
 
Practices who use SMS with a branded sender ID, such as the clinic name, are advised to contact their telco or SMS provider by 30 June to register their sender ID.
 
Organisations using text messaging to communicate with their patients and customers must register all their sender IDs by 1 July 2026. From this date, any text message sent using a registered sender ID will be delivered with that ID and can be trusted by consumers.
 
Unregistered sender IDs will be replaced with the word ‘Unverified’ and grouped together in a single message thread on recipients’ phones. This will alert recipients that the text is a potential scam.
 
More information is available on the Australian Communications and Media Authority website. 
 
Nicorandil tablets in shortage 
Nicorandil tablets will be in shortage intermittently between November 2025 and March 2026, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has revealed.
 
Availability of the 10 mg and 20 mg strengths of both brands (APO-Nicorandil from Arrotex Pharmaceuticals and Ikotab from Viatris) will vary during this period. 
 
To help patients have continuous access to the medicine, the TGA has made a Serious Scarcity Substitution Instrument (SSSI), which began on 28 November.
 
The TGA has published a web alert about the SSSI, as well as a webpage about the shortage of nicorandil tablets to provide information to patients, carers and health professionals.  
 
The substitution has PBS subsidy arrangements, and the PBS website has been updated with this information.  
 
Exploring various causes of dementia
Webinar: Monday 8 December, 7.45 – 8.45 pm (AEDT) 
CPD: 1 EA hour 
Register online 
 
In collaboration with Dementia Training Australia, this webinar is the third and final session in the series presented by RACGP Specific Interests. The conversational interview format will feature specialists discussing several important topics in dementia. 
 
Join Monash University stroke and cognitive neurologist Professor Amy Brodtmann for a panel discussion on the rarer forms of dementia, including Lewy Body and Parkinson’s disease dementia.
 
The session will explore how GPs can recognise and identify these conditions in clinical practice, indicators to watch for, approaches to supporting patients, and valuable resources to assist in ongoing care. 
 
ADHD, ECGs, heart and stimulants
Webinar: Tuesday 9 December, 7.30 – 8.30 pm (AEDT) 
CPD: 1 EA hour 
Register online  
 
Ever referred a patient for ADHD and been told by the psychiatrist to ‘please do an ECG’, but not quite sure what is being ruled out, and feeling burdened with the responsibility of medically clearing a patient to start stimulants? 
 
Hosted by RACGP Specific Interests, cardiologist Dr Siang Soh presents a GP-focused webinar to provide clarity and confidence in managing cardiac considerations with ADHD medications. 
 
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cardiovascular health dementia general practice scams information security medication shortage nicorandil
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