What is the FMRC? | Mission Statement | Current activities | Staff
The Family Medicine Research Centre at the University of Sydney was established in August 1999 to undertake health services research in general practice and primary care in Australia. The Centre was formed from the Family Medicine Research Unit which has carried out research in the Department of General Practice since 1990. The Centre is part of the School of Public Health and is located on the Westmead Hospital campus of the University of Sydney.
Our work centres on health services research and development. We have considerable expertise and experience in the entire research process from the formulation of study questions, to grant applications, development of protocols, study logistics, project management, data collection and classification, statistical and analytical techniques, report writing, publishing, proposals and recommendations.
We are a multidisciplinary team with undergraduate and postgraduate educational backgrounds in medicine (general practice), psychology, statistics, epidemiology, public health, health information management; economic geography; market research, communication, and information technology.
We seek to enhance the health of individuals and the community by continuous improvement in the quality of general practice care. We aim to lead through excellence in health services research and evaluation, and in the development and implementation of systems to improve quality of care.
As a multidisciplinary team of research professionals, we will pursue these goals through:-
Rigorous study design and the collection of quality data Application of advanced qualitative and quantitative research techniques Development and application of innovative research methodology Provision of expert advice on general practice research Broad dissemination of research results through publication and presentation Evaluation of therapeutic interventions in general practice Improvement and promotion of standardised coding and classification systems in primary care Teaching and training in research methods across health disciplines at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. We will continue to work in a way which reflects our vision and our principles of intellectual integrity, scientific rigour, reliability, consultation and collaboration.
Staff (Scroll down for photos)
Helena Britt BA, PhD Director Graeme Miller MBBS, PhD, FRACGP Medical Director Joan Henderson Bapp Sc (HIM) (Hons), PhD (Med) Senior Research Fellow Janice Charles BA, MSc (Med) Project Manager, BEACH Lisa Valenti BEc Senior Research Analyst Ying Pan BMed MCH Senior Research Analyst Christopher Harrison B Psych (Hons), MSocHlth Senior Research Analyst Clare Bayram BAppSc (HIM)(Hons) Research Assistant Julie O'Halloran BAppSc (HIM)(Hons) Research Assistant Salma Fahridin BappSc (HIM) MHSc Research Assistant Timothy Chambers BSc (Computing) IT Manager Gervaise Woods BSc, HDipEd, GradDipSpEd Administrative Officer Denise Barratt Dip Bus Admin administrative assistant Errol Henderson BSc (EE), DipDA, MEI(Aust) Recruitment manager
Helena Britt BA, PhD
Helena is Associate Professor and Director of the Family Medicine Research Centre, and the AIHW Australian General Practice Statistics and Classification Centre. She is a psychologist but her Doctorate is in general practice. She has worked in general practice health services research for over thirty years. Her major interests are in methodological development, data quality, classification and the development of data standards. Her philosophy is that dirty data are worse than no data.
Graeme Miller MBBS, PhD, FRACGP
Graeme Miller is an Associate Professor and Medical Director of the FMRC. A general practitioner and Fellow of the RACGP, he was a principal in a large group general practice in Sydney for over 20 years and subsequently Director of the Department of General Practice at Westmead Hospital. He was a member of the RACGP Council for over 10 years including terms as Chairman of Council and Honorary Secretary. He was Director of Standards Development for the College for two years. He is a member of the Wonca International Classification Committee and chair of its Terminology and EHR Structure Working Group. Joan Henderson Bapp Sc (HIM)(Hons), PhD (Med)
Joan has a degree in Health Information Management [BAppSc (HIM) HONS 1] (March, 2000), and a PhD (Medicine) (March, 2008), both from the University of Sydney . She has been employed with the FMRC since January 1999. For most of that time, her main responsibilities were co-ordination of SAND, questionnaire design and liaising with ethics on stakeholders' behalf. In January 2008 she was appointed to academic staff as a senior research fellow and continues to work at the Centre. Janice Charles BA, MSc (Med)
Jan Charles has worked in general practice research since 1987 and is project manager of BEACH, co-ordinating various aspects of the research process. She has also developed and maintained CAPS (Coding Atlas for Pharmaceutical Substances), the system used to classify the medication data gathered in the BEACH program. Lisa Valenti BEc
Lisa Valenti is a senior analyst for the FMRC. She joined in May 2000, having previously worked in London on a European study of Toxoplasmosis, and in Newcastle NSW on a worldwide funded study of cardiovascular disease. Lisa is currently enrolled in a Masters of Medical Statistics. Current interests include questionnaire design, complementary therapies and perceived stress in general practice patients.> Ying Pan BMed MCH
Ying has worked in FMRC since October 2000. She used to work as a research assistant in National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (NCHECR). Now her major duties are providing statistical reports for SAND – the sub-study of BEACH project and generating standard/non-standard reports for stakeholders or relevant organisations. Her research interests are antibiotic prescribing and children's health. Chris Harrison B Psych (Hons), MSocHlth
Christopher Harrison joined FMRC march 2002. A registered psychologist, he
has both a Bachelor of Psychology (with Honours) and Masters of Social Health from Macquarie University. Chris is interested in the rates and management of
psychological problems in general practice.Salma Fahridin BappSc(HIM), MHSc(Clinical Data Management)
Salma Fahridin has worked for the FMRC since March 2004. She has a degree in Health Information Management and a Masters degree in Health Science (Clinical Data Management). Salma's main roles are ensuring data quality, generating standard reports, and providing research assistance to the BEACH program.
Clare Bayram BAppSc (HIM)(Hons)
Clare has a degree in Health Information Management [BAppSc (HIM) Hons] from the University of Sydney. She has worked for the FMRC since 2002. She is responsible for the coordination of SAND, questionnaire design and liaising with ethics on stakeholders' behalf. Her duties also include the coordination and editing of the BEACH reports. She is currently enrolled in a PhD relating to the quality of pathology ordering by Australian general practitioners.
Julie O'Halloran BAppSc (HIM)(Hons)
Julie has worked at the FMRC since 2002. She has an Honours degree in Health Information Management from the University of Sydney. Her role centres on the co-ordination of classifications and terminologies at the Centre, particularly ICPC-2 and ICPC-2 PLUS. She is currently enrolled in a PhD relating to the application of the SNOMED CT reference terminology in the Australian primary care setting. Tim Chambers BAppSc (Computing)
Tim provides on-site IT support for FMRC network, computer systems and data. Duties include helpdesk support for staff, database design, and updating the website. Tim is a jack-of-all-trades and when a computer problem cannot be fixed straight away he will do the research and liaise with suppliers and other tech support. Gervaise Woods BSc, HDipEd, GradDipSpEd
Gervaise joined the university in 1994 after a long career in teaching. She is responsible for Personnel & Finance matters at the Family Medicine Research Centre. Denise Barratt Dip Bus Admin
Denise joined FMRC January 2008 as the administrative assistant to the team. She has had extensive administrative experience within the health environment. Errol Henderson BSc (EE), DipDA, MEI(Aust)
Errol’s background is in electrical engineering. Having designed and overseen the restoration of the electrical supply system of Darwin post Cyclone Tracy, and built the largest diesel electric power station in the southern hemisphere at Port Hedland, Errol has taken on a new challenge as a member of our research team. He’s our chief recruiter, and most GPs who take part in BEACH will speak to him at some stage of the process.
