Medical board places conditions on former Cats medico, Point Lonsdale doctor Geoff Allen
The prescribing powers of a well-known Point Lonsdale doctor, who previously served at the Cats for years, have been restricted by the national medical watchdog.
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The national medical watchdog has slapped a veteran Geelong Cats doctor with conditions restricting his prescribing powers.
Dr Geoff Allen, a longtime Bellarine Peninsula GP, works at Point Lonsdale Medical Group and resigned from the Cats last year.
The Medical Board of Australia applied conditions to Dr Allen’s registration in August.
The conditions mean Dr Allen must not prescribe certain medications, including schedule 4 drugs of dependence and schedule 8 drugs, except to aged care residents who were under his care and prescribed schedule 4 drugs of dependence or schedule 8 medications prior to the conditions.
Schedule 4 drugs of dependence include benzodiazepines, which can be used to treat anxiety or insomnia, while schedule 8 includes pain medications like morphine and oxycodone.
The conditions say Dr Allen must maintain a log detailing every case where he has prescribed schedule 4 drugs of dependence or schedule 8 medications to patients in aged care facilities.
They also state Dr Allen must undertake and successfully complete a program of education, approved by the Medical Board of Australia and including a reflective practice report, in relation to drugs of dependence and challenging consultations.
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency website says Dr Allen would face an audit after some conditions were lifted.
The audit report is to focus on schedule 8 and schedule 4 drugs of dependence and must include the clinical indication for the prescribing, prescribing frequency and dosage, details of the risk-based discussion with the patient about the medication prescribed, and management plan.
Dr Allen resigned from the Geelong Cats at the end of 2020, and had been in the role since 2005.
“The Essendon saga with all the governance associated with medication and supplements has put a big strain on the role,” Dr Allen said last year.
“It’s one of those areas that you don’t realise how big a job it is until you stop doing it.
“It’s kind of nice not having to deal with all that kind of stuff on top of having a general practice down at Point Lonsdale, which is busy enough as it is.”
In 2010, Dr Allen suffered a heart attack on the ground before a game in Adelaide.
Attempts to obtain comment from Dr Allen and the Point Lonsdale Medical Group before publication on Tuesday were not successful.
An AHPRA spokesperson said confidentiality provisions prevented the agency from commenting on individual matters beyond what was available publicly.
“This includes whether a practitioner is or was being investigated, or the reasons that a practitioner might have conditions on their registration,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said conditions could be imposed on a practitioner’s registration by a National Board:
AT the time that the board decides to register a practitioner or renew a practitioner’s registration;
AS an interim step to restrict practice while an investigation is carried out; or,
AS a final outcome at the conclusion of a notification process.
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