Profile
Australia
Professor Mark Shephard OAM, BSc (Hons), MSc, MAIMS, MAACB, FFSc (RCPA), PhD is Director of the Flinders University International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing. He is Program Manager of the international ACE (Analytical and Clinical Excellence) Point-of-Care Testing Program for diabetes management which is now operating in 7 countries, and is the Course Co-ordinator for the Centre's Graduate Certificate in Global Point-of-Care Testing, which is the first postgraduate academic qualification in the field of point-of-care testing. Within Australia, Mark is Program Manager of the largest national point-of-care testing field network, called QAAMS (Quality Assurance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Medical Services), which delivers point-of-care testing for diabetes management in over 175 Aboriginal medical services. He is also Chair of the Management Committee of the Northern Territory Point-of-Care Testing Program, in which point-of-care testing for acute and chronic diseases is conducted in 35 remote health centres in the Territory. Mark is a Chief Investigator on a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)-funded randomised trial of point-of-care testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in remote Australian Aboriginal communities called TTANGO (Test, Treat and Go). Mark was one of seven Chief Investigators of the Centre of Clinical Research Excellence (CCRE) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (2003-2008). His unit was also one of the three lead organisations charged with the delivery of the Australian Government's Point-of-Care Testing in General Practice Trial, which involved 53 general practices and just under 5000 patients with chronic disease (2005-2007). Mark has the unique dual honour of being the recipient of (i) the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Australian honours list and (ii) an Australian of the Year Award in 2004. These awards primarily acknowledged Mark's work in Point-of-Care Testing. In 2009, Mark was the recipient of a Distinguished Alumni Award from Flinders University, which recognised his significant contributions to the improvement of Aboriginal health in Australia and his services to the University. In 2011, Mark was elected as a Founding Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia's (RCPA) Faculty of Science. Mark has also served as Chair of the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB) Point of Care Testing Working Party (2004-5). Since 2010, he has been Co-Chair of the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists (AIMS) Working Committee on Point-of-Care Testing for Infectious Disease and Drugs of Abuse. In 2013 Mark was appointed Chair of the WONCA (World Organisation of Family Doctors) Special Interest Group on Global Point-of-Care Testing.
Articles contributed to by this person
Short Communication 30 October 2014
Point-of-care testing for haemoglobin A1c in remote Australian Indigenous communities improves timeliness of diabetes care
Commentary 29 July 2013
Managing chronic diseases in rural aged care facilities using point-of-care testing systems
Original Research 10 August 2009
Evaluation of a training program for device operators in the Australian Government's Point of Care Testing in General Practice Trial: issues and implications for rural and remote practices
Original Research 29 September 2006
Results of an Aboriginal community-based renal disease management program incorporating point of care testing for urine albumin:creatinine ratio
Original Research 15 July 2005
The impact of point of care testing on diabetes services along Victoria's Mallee Track: Results of a community-based diabetes risk assessment and management program
Original Research 8 February 2003
Albuminuria in a remote South Australian Aboriginal community: results of a community-based screening program for renal disease
Search
Register Now
About our regions
News & Events
Job stressors and buffer factors in community-oriented medical education
article
Factors that promote success in a maternal–child program serving Indigenous families
article
Video Summary | Remote health solutions in Far East Gippsland, Australia
article
read more
4th International Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Conference 2025, 16–19 June 2025, Kaurna Country, Adelaide, Australia
web link
CATSINaM Regional Congress 2025, 2–4 July 2025, Kaurareg Country, Waibene (Thursday Island)
web link
2025 Gayaa Dhuwi Conference, 28–29 August 2025, Garramilla (Darwin), Australia
web link
National Tribal Health Conference, 7–12 September 2025, Chandler, AZ, USA
web link
2025 National First Nations Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Conference, 15–17 September 2025, Gold Coast, Australia
web link
10th Rural & Remote Health Scientific Symposium, 8 & 9 October 2025, Alice Springs, NT, Australia
web link
Indigenous Wellbeing Conference 2025, 20–21 October 2025, Meanjin (Brisbane), Australia
web link
World Indigenous Suicide Prevention Conference 2026, 17–19 September 2026, Kirikiriroa (Hamilton), New Zealand
web link
NRHA 48th Annual Rural Health Conference, 20–23 May 2025, Atlanta, GA, USA
web link
2025 International Rural Nursing Conference, 27–30 May 2025, Arlington, TX, USA
web link
BC Rural Health Conference 2025, 6–8 June 2025, Prince George, BC, Canada
web link
4th International Indigenous Health & Wellbeing Conference 2025, 16–19 June 2025, Adelaide Convention Centre, Kaurna Country, Australia
web link
14th EURIPA Rural Health Forum. Rural Reformation: Meeting Wellbeing and Healthcare Needs in Rural Communities, 26–28 June 2025, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
web link
Rethinking Remote 2025: Scotland's Rural Health Conference
web link
16th National Allied Health Conference: Empowering lives, shaping healthcare, 11–14 August 2025, Adelaide, Australia
web link
WONCA World Conference 2025: New Vision for Primary Health Care and Sustainable Development, 17–21 September 2025, Lisbon, Portugal
web link
NRHA 23rd Rural Health Clinic Conference, 23–24 September 2025, Kansas, MO, USA
web link
2025 Health Leadership Congress, 22–24 October 2025, Darwin, Australia
web link
Rural Mental Health Conference 2025 (RMHC25), 5–7 November 2025, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
web link
4th EURACT Medical Education Conference, 23–25 April 2026, Iasi, Romania
web link
9th WONCA Africa Region Conference 2026, 10 & 11 September 2026, Gaborone, Botswana
web link
18th National Rural Health Conference, 14–17 September 2026, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Connect with us
