The HPS Team

The HealthPathways Sydney Team

With the support of the CSPHN and SLHD Executives the HealthPathways Sydney Team is made up of clinicians and dedicated Project Staff. The Team comprises of the following positions:

Program Manager

Project Officers

Administration Officer

Lead Clinical Editor

GP Clinical Editors

GP Extended Skills Registrar - Training position

Project Management & Support

Program Manager - Paul Bennett

Following qualification as a Registered Nurse in 1990, Paul spent nearly thirteen years in various Clinical and Managerial roles in Urology including the Lead Nurse role for Urology at Guy's & St.Thomas' Hospital Trust, London. Following a move to Sydney in 2003 Paul joined the nursing service at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and was appointed Nursing Unit Manager for Trauma Orthopaedics in 2004. Since then he has held a number of positions within the Executive Units of both Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Sydney Local Health District and was most recently the SLHD Nurse Manager for Workforce and Innovation. Prior to that position he was seconded to the Nursing and Midwifery Office of NSW Health as a Project Officer for Nursing Strategy and Innovation.

Project Officer - Cameron Stewart

For the last three years Cameron has been employed with Inner West Sydney Medicare Local (IWSML). Up until this year, his role was to deliver the NPS educational program to GPs and pharmacists. From February to June this year, Cameron was a member of their e-Health team facilitating GPs, allied health and community to embrace e-Health involvement. Prior to working with IWSML, he had been employed working for many years with other Divisions of General Practice with the Home Medicines Review program. Cameron's background is in pharmacy and for twenty years he owned and managed a pharmacy in the St George area. Cameron has hospital experience having worked part time as a staff pharmacist at the Sutherland Hospital. In parallel with his pharmacy career he has also pursued a degree in Counselling which eventually found him employed as a relationship counsellor at agencies in Campbelltown and the St.George areas. Outside of work Cameron's interests include astronomy, antiques, art, history, NSWGR, bush walking, travel, photography and sport (especially rugby and cricket). Cameron is excited to be working with the other members of the HealthPathways team in what he believes will be an exciting, evolving aspect of the future of patient care.

Pathway Reviews Program Officer - Tammy Shapiro

Following qualification as an Accredited Practising Dietitian in 2009, Tammy initially worked in both the general practice and corporate dietetic settings before joining the Eastern Sydney Medicare Local as a Practice Support Officer in 2012. Since then, Tammy has held several positions with both the Medicare Local and later Central and Eastern Sydney PHN - all with a strong focus on supporting and strengthening the capacity of local general practice. Prior to joining the HealthPathways Sydney team in March 2017, Tammy was employed by CESPHN as a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program Officer and was responsible for the planning and facilitation of multiple events across the PHN - including several large scale forums held in partnership with the Sydney Local Health District. Outside of work, Tammy is a passionate cook, supporter of the Sydney Roosters, and animal welfare activist. Tammy is delighted to have joined the HealthPathways Sydney team and looks forward to establishing a long-term career in this innovative healthcare portfolio.

Lead Clinical Editor

Lead Clinical Editor - Dr Kate George

Dr Kate George Has been a GP in Inner West Sydney for well over 20 years. Whilst her special interest area is in women’s and children’s health, she is passionate about the need for comprehensive and responsive healthcare at all ages. This requires good communication between all sectors of health with the patient central to this process. Hence her excitement on hearing that Health Pathways was being launched in the Inner West! Kate has been a Director of Central Sydney GP Network since 2010, is a GP representative on Balmain Hospital’s Clinical Council and also the IWSML/SLHD Liaison Committee. She has also represented general practice in relation to Cancer Services. She is a GP Supervisor and Clinical Teaching Visitor with GP Synergy. Her writing experience includes working as “Dear Dr” for Cleo magazine and also writing the Clinical Quiz for Medical Observer magazine. Both these roles require refining large volumes of information into a clear and precise format. Kate has been a Clinical Editor with HealthPathways Sydney since August 2013 and took on the role of Lead Clinical Editor in July 2018.

GP Clinical Editors

Dr Simon Cowap

Has been an Inner Western Sydney GP for almost 20 years. He has a particular interest in mental health and has worked with organisations such as the Commonwealth Government youth health initiative Headspace and the Brain & Mind Research Institution. He has also been on the former Division of GPs network mental health advisory board. He has a keen interest in education and has been involved in developing and delivering numerous GP education modules. Communication and medical writing are other interests and he has edited the division newsletter ‘Central Viewpoint’ and written for a range of publications and websites. He reviews and edits articles for the MIMs consumer health ‘my Dr’ website and appeared regularly on ‘Broadcast GP’. He is a reviewer for ‘Australian Family Physician’ and performs assessments and sits on review panels for the NSW Medical Council. He sees the Pathways project as a great opportunity to provide practical clinical information at point of care and improve integration of primary care with secondary and tertiary services.

Dr Lara Mihaljevic

A GP with 25years experience with a special interest in Children’s Health, Women’s Health, Mental Health and Health Promotion. Lara has 6 years experience in paediatrics including 2 years in the UK and 4 years in Sydney (3 years working in a paediatric General Practice in Blacktown). She has completed a Diploma of Child Health and a Grad Dip of Public Health. She has also completed extra training in Mental Health. Lara has a long held interest in health promotion and holistic approach to medicine including the use of mindfulness based meditation in clinical practice. She is very enthusiastic about HealthPathways and how this will improve patient care and empower GPs to provide best practice. She has worked as a CPD coordinator for the CSDGP and has been on the CPD committee for a number of years. She has also worked as a sessional tutor at the School of Public Health at Sydney University tutoring medical students in evidence based medicine. Lara has held a position as part time lecturer in the Department of General Practice at Flinders Medical Centre South Australia.

Dr Margot Woods

A GP for more than 25years, spending the last 15years working in the Inner West of Sydney, Margot has special interests in Lifestyle Medicine, Women and Children’s health and co-coordinating the care of patients with chronic health issues. She established an Interdisciplinary Clinic in Rozelle 6 years ago and understands the need for processes that aide doctors and patients to navigate their way through a complex health system and believes that the Health Pathways project is an exciting tool that will facilitate the care of all patients in the Inner West and improve their access to co-ordinated care. Margot has been a GP representative at IWSML for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Chronic Diseases Programs. She enjoys teaching students and sharing ideas in her practice. As she has been involved with the Improvement Foundation’s Collaborative program for 7 years as both a presenter and participant she is a strong believer in reviewing processes and continuous change for improvement.