Dr. Maggie Phillips

Biography/ Background

Dr Maggie Phillips has over thirty years experience as a General Practitioner and has broad clinical skill base. Maggie has significant expertise in the discipline of travel medicine, having practised in the area since returning to Australia in 1989. She has a special interest in tropical and infectious diseases and enjoys the challenge of diagnosing the sick returned traveller.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, University of Adelaide, 1977
Diploma of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, 1979
Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, United Kingdom, 1983
Basic course in diving medicine, Royal Adelaide Hospital, 1994
Master of Public Health, University of Adelaide, 1997

Experience

Immediately after graduating, Maggie worked in Darwin Hospital, and following this, worked in a remote area of Western Samoa. After moving to the United Kingdom, she worked in hospital paediatrics and gained further qualifications in obstetrics and tropical medicine.

A year spent in Infectious Diseases at Fazakerley Hospital, Liverpool, provided her with experience in treating sick returned travellers, who had often returned from “exotic” overseas destinations. The Unit received many of the early cases of the newly identified Legionnaire’s Disease as well as being on standby for suspected Lassa Fever cases from Africa. Since that time other new and emerging infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS have become prevalent, and Maggie maintains her expertise in the discipline of infectious disease. While at Fazarkerley Hospital, the responsibility of managing serious complications of "routine" childhood illnesses, such as chickenpox, convinced her of the importance of immunisation. These experiences would later shape her conviction in the preventative role played by travel medicine clinics.

On return to Australia, Maggie worked as a District Medical Officer based in Alice Springs and was responsible for regular visits to seven aboriginal communities as well as Royal Flying Doctor Service retrievals. These aboriginal communities suffer from reduced life expectancy due to acute infections as well as chronic diseases such as diabetes and renal failure. The Northern Territory was followed by two years in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, where she was the Medical Officer for the Outpatient Department. As the Medical Officer, she was responsible for rapidly assessing acute cases across all age groups. Were it not for tuberculosis and malaria, the villagers of that region would have been very healthy thanks to their market gardens and exercise. Since returning to Adelaide she has practised both travel medicine and general practice and enjoys the diversity of medicine at our clinic.

Research and Teaching Interests

Maggie often hosts medical students who benefit from the cross-section of patients who attend our clinic. She co-authored "The Little Book" and much of the web site content and educational material.

Publications

Selected Publications include;
Phillips, MA. Letter: Lifestyle Diseases in Aborigines. Med J Aust. 1985 Sep 2; 143
Phillips MA, Kass RB. User Acceptability Patterns for Mefloquine and Doxycycline Malaria
Chemoprophylaxis. J Travel Med 1996; 3:40-45
Phillips MA. Letter: Adverse events associated with mefloquine...women more susceptible. BMJ 1996;
313:1552-1553