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Practice Support
Accreditation - Continuous Quality Improvement
The CQI Program offers direct support to assist member practices gain accreditation and also provides ongoing support for all aspects of re accreditation
Useful links to General Practice Accreditation bodies:-
Australian General Practice Accreditation Ltd
Ph: 1300 362 111
GPA Accreditation Plus
Ph: 1800 188 088
Accreditation Support
GP Members and practice staff have access to telephone "hotline" support for any accreditation or sterilization issue. Solo practices, in particular are offered specialised assistance as needed.
Individual practice visits provide assistance with any aspectof the accreditation or reaccreditation process including accreditation support visits, 3rd Edition Patient Feedback Surveys and mock survey visits.
Information on interpretation of the standards and assistance with compliance and implementation is also offered. Practice visits offering on site training to all practice staff and Continous Professional Development acitivities are conducted to keep practices informed about the accreditation process and the RACGP Standards.
Accreditation Resources
Dandenong Division is fortunate to be able to draw on the skills of experienced surveyors working with our division to inform the development of our accreditation resources. This group meets quarterly and consists of eleven surveyors, being General Practitioners and Practice Managers with a combined 150 years of surveying experience.
Policy& Procedure Manual
A Generic Policy & Procedure manual has been developed for practices to tailor to their individual practice needs. This manual is based on the RACGP Standards for General Practice and has been reviewed by AGPAL & GPA.. It is highly recommended to all practices undertaking the accreditation process. The manual can be downloaded from the division web site. It is recommended any updates to policies and new additions are also
downloaded annually.
Triage Guide
The DCGPA Triage Support Guide is based on the POPGUNS tool developed by SE NSW Division of General Practice and consists of a quick reference wall chart and a triage support handbook. The wall chart must be used in conjunction with the Triage Support Handbook. The triage guide can be downloaded or purchased from the division by emailing or phoning. This guide aims to assist receptionists to categorize patients into different levels of priority, based on the symptoms described or observed. Once the category is determined the prompts on the wall chart guide appropriate actions, such as whether to interrupt the GP immediately or discuss with GP or nurse as soon as possible. Forphone inssuggested advice, such as, calling an ambulance, going to casualty or coming into the surgery, is also listed according to the category selected. There is also advice about initial first aid and alerts to possible changes in patients symptoms that might require re-prioritizing a patient to a more urgent category.
Business Issues
(incl Accounting / Industrial Relations / Risk Management / OH & S)
The Association can advise and direct Members /
Further information can be found under Resources / General Practice Support click on headings as follows:-
Business Issues
Risk Management
GP Health
There is abundant evidence in literature that the advice GPs give to their patients is very much influenced by their own health habits.
In Victoria, 57% of GPs do not have their own GP, 13% nominate themselves as their own GP and 31% a professional partner.
Within the Medical Profession, GPs, especially those in single practice , have the highest mortality rates and the lowest life expectancy of all doctors.
For all these reasons, we have developed our Practitioner Health webpage. Take a look at the Just Do It! Catalogue, a shopping list to take with you to your own GP for a wellbeing assessment. Browse through our tips for healthy eating and recreation ideas. These can be found in our Resources Section (Docs for Docs.) Click here for monthly newsletter articles
And, if you dont have your own GP we have a list of GPs for Practitioners available by emailing or phoning the Association on 8792 1900. GPs from the local area and as far away as the Peninsula for greater privacy are listed.
^ back to topRefer Resources SectionInformatics
The Association can provide practices with general information and advice on informatics related topics such as secure messaging, clinical audit tools, population health data, electronic templates, recall and reminder registers, and utilising information management for chronic disease management. The Association cannot provide technical IT support, as it is expected that practices have their own hardware and software support companies to handle day-to-day IT issues.
Clinical Audit Tools
The Association can provide practices with help regarding installation and data collection from two clinical audit tools. Currently the Association has purchased licences for both the PEN Clinical Audit Tool and the Canning Clinical Audit Tool, which are available free of charge to member practices. These tools can provide practices with valuable feedback regarding the quality of clinical data and help to identify patients in high-risk groups. This is more comprehensive than the typical reports accessible from your clinical software.
Practice Health Atlas
The Practice Health Atlas (PHA) is a decision support tool aimed to inspire practices to reflect on their activities and to develop business models for more effective health care outcomes. The data is used to predict the practices future health care needs and trends, and to establish business models for potential need for (or more efficient utilisation of) practice nurses, and training needs for practice staff in service provision tools. The three main sections of the PHA are epidemiology and mapping, business and clinical systems modelling, and access to services and networks.
Secure Messaging
Secure messaging is a requirement of the eHealth PIP (see PIP under resources section), and the Association currently promotes Argus as a preferred messaging provider. There is a cost associated with most messaging providers (including Argus), although when considering the eHealth PIP and savings in postage, faxing and staff time, the cost benefits are soon realised.
Argus can provide doctors and other healthcare providers with access to pathology and imaging results, specialist letters, admission and discharge summaries, emergency department notifications and other related documents electronically and can import these documents into the patient notes. With Argus, a doctor can also transmit a pathology request, specialist referral (e.g. Diabetes Education), or compile and send a health summary to another doctor.
Because Argus uses open, commonly-used internet technologies (e.g. email) other healthcare providers can implement Argus easily and cheaply. Also, doctors can choose whichever Internet Service Provider they prefer.
Please note that Argus is not the sole secure messaging vendor; the NEHTAwebsite provides a complete list of eligible suppliers for the PIP eHealth incentive: http://nehta.gov.au/pip-vendors
HealthLink
HealthLink is a messaging and online communications system for the secure electronic exchange of health information. Southern Health have chosen HealthLink to securely transmit pathology and radiology results electronically to general practice, and soon will also be sending discharge summaries via HealthLink.
The General Practice Computing Group
Getting the most out of computers in General Practice; The General Practice Computing Group site is an excellent source of comprehensive information about Informatics and computing within General Practice, including education modules, security guidelines, fact sheets and more.
Practice Information Management Support (PIMS)
Effective information management is essential in general practice. Dandenong Casey General Practice Association (DCGPA) offers a range of information management support services to practices; all services are tailored to meet the needs of individual practices.
Benefits for GPs and practice staff through Practice Information Management Support:
Allows practices to assess and improve the quality of and completeness of patient data
Enables better understanding and identification of patient population needs
Facilitates chronic disease prevention and management within the practice
Assists practices with accreditation, enabling practices to demonstrate the quality of their patient data and quality improvement activities
Highlights opportunities to increase income from MBS items and Practice Incentive Payments
Can be used to undertake QI and CPD activities for the 2011 2013 triennium.
All services to assist practices improve their information management are provided free of charge to practices and include:
1. PEN Clinical Audit Tool
The PEN Clinical Audit Tool (PEN CAT) extracts data from clinical software and allows the practice to analyse and review data and identify areas for action. DCGPA staff offer ongoing support to practices using the PEN CAT and assistance implementing activities based on the PEN CAT data.
2. Practice data reports
DCGPA uses data from the Clinical Audit Tool to produce individual practice reports highlighting practice achievements and noting areas the practice may like to work on. Practice reports also enable the practice to look at changes in the practice results over time and to compare their results against Division averages. To see an example page of a baseline data report click here
3. Quality Improvement Activities (Plan Do Study Act cycles)
Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) cycles provide a simple tool to help practices develop and test improvement activities. DCGPA provides practices with support and training in using the PDSA cycles and folders for each practice to record their own PDSAs. These folders are a very useful resource for practice accreditation.
If you have any questions regarding Practice Information Management Support or would like to discuss how there services could be used by your practice please contact Stephanie Edmonds or Mary Saunders on 8792 1900
^ back to topRefer Resources SectionPractice Managers / Nurses
Network Meetings
The Practice Managers group and Practice Nurses group meet on the first Wednesday of alternate months. The purpose of the groups is to facilitate networking between practice staff and to provide up to date information on a range of interesting and relevant topics.
Each clinic is sent an invitation via Fax Stream and upcoming topics are listed on the Associations' web-site under latest events in addition to being promoted on the relevant network email.
Practice Managers & Practice Nurse E-mail networks
Practice managers and practice nurses are encouraged to join their peer email network. Information about upcoming events, useful resources, industry changes and division activities can be sent directly to you via the network. In addition, the opportunity to share information, seek ideas or find new resources is provided through this network.
To register your details to join either the Practice Managers Network or the Practice Nurses Network please email: admin@dcgpa.com.au
PRACTICE NURSES
The Nursing in General Practice Recruitment and Orientation Resource is now available.
The Recruitment and Orientation Resource is designed to assist in the recruitment and orientation of nurses into the general practice setting. The resource has been developed utilising and building on existing resources from Divisions of General Practice. It is applicable to a national audience and will provide information and resources for the employer, all members of the general practice team, Divisions of General Practice and nurses new to general practice.
To access the Resource click http://www.adgp.com.au/site/index.cfm?display=13887
Project partners were the Australian Nursing Federation and the Australian Practice Nurses Association. The project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing
The latest edition of the monthly GPDV Practice Nurse Training Calendar is now available under the Resources section. Check also the Division Newsletters for the latest updates.
QA & CPD
(Quality Assurance and Continuing Professional Development)
QA & CPD
The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program provides a range of clinical and business related educational sessions that are accredited for CPD Points by the
The CPD Subcommittee meets bi-monthly and ensures activities provided are of a high quality and relevant to General Practice. Information about upcoming activities is placed in the Associations newsletter, posted on the website under coming events, emailed in the fortnightly E-news and sent out to all GP members.
The new program aims to support GPs individual needs by enabling GPs to self record activities not accredited within the QA&CPD, has an emphasis on patient safety and quality improvement and now requires GPs to complete a basic CPR course. If you need further information on the requirements for the new triennium please contact the RACGP on 03 8699 0483.
The RACGP QA&CPD 2008-2010 Triennium Requirements
For full details of 2008 - 2010 triennium requirements click here