Quality Improvement
MPHN Quality Improvement Program
Digital information can transform the quality and sustainability of health and care. Used effectively, it can help save lives, improve health and wellbeing and support a sustainable health system that delivers safe, high quality and effective health services for all Australians.
Improvement in general practice data can involve examining practice structures, systems and clinical care. This data can be gathered from patient or staff feedback, an audit of clinical databases, or the analysis of near misses and mistakes.
MPHN plays a role in supporting Quality Improvement (QI) in general practice with strategies to embed QI systems, improve data quality, analyse the practice's data and identify areas for improvement, assist with goal setting and improvement activities, provide progress reports and feedback. Ultimately, quality improvement activities will lead to improved clinical care and outcomes in general practice.
QuaIity Improvement PIP (QI PIP)
The Quality Improvement Practice Incentives Program (PIP) supports general practice activities that encourage continuing improvements, quality care, enhancing capacity and improving access and health outcomes for patients.
The number and type of incentives available within PIP changed from 1 August 2019 when five of the existing incentives ceased and a new incentive commenced.
The QI Incentive aims to recognise and support practices that commit to improving the care they provide to their patients. Participating practices will be supported to utilise the information they have about their own communities and their knowledge of the particular needs of their own patients to develop innovative strategies to drive improvement.
As well as demonstrating a commitment to quality improvement, practices will share a minimum set of aggregated data with their local Primary Health Network (PHN), such as the number of patients who are diabetic, the percentage who smoke, the cardiovascular risk and weight profile. This information will be collated at a local level by PHNs to assist in supporting improvement and understanding health needs. The data provided is de-identified.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Australian Medical Association (AMA), the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA), the Australian Association of Practice Managers (AAPM) and the National Aboriginal and Community Controlled Health Organisations (NACCHO) are all working together as members of the Practice Incentives Program Advisory Group (PIPAG), along with the Department of Health to ensure that this initiative is focused on quality improvement.
AMA, RDAA, AAPM and NACCHO are also working closely with PHNs to ensure the program has strong governance of general practice data.
The four PIP incentives that ceased as of 31 July 2019 are:
Asthma Incentive
Quality Prescribing Incentive
Cervical Screening Incentive
Diabetes Incentive
The six PIP Incentives that remain unchanged are:
eHealth Incentive
After Hours Incentive
Rural Loading Incentive
Teaching Payment
Indigenous Health Incentive, and
Procedural General Practitioner Payment
General Practitioner Aged Care Access Incentive
Our Practice Support team can assist your general practices with this transition. More information can be found on the Department of Health’s website here https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/PIP-QI_Incentive_guidance
MPHN Quality Improvement Report
MPHN provides participating practices with a Quality Improvement Benchmark report every 3 months. MPHNs Primary Care Engagement Officers can support your practice by helping you identify areas for quality improvement using data from the report, and then assisting you to make the changes required to achieve the goals you want to reach. A sample copy of the practice data quality benchmark report can be accessed via the link below.
PCS Clinical Audit Tools
Data quality is an integral part of your practice. At MPHN we aim to improve the practice and patient outcomes by enhancing the quality of your data by the use of the PCS Clinical Audit Tool (CAT4). CAT4 is software that collects and then translates data from GP clinical systems into statistical and graphical formats which can be used for reporting, data cleaning and providing better patient care. The Practice Aggregation Tool (PATCAT) is also available to MPHN general practices. Using de-identified data, PATCAT allows practices to log on to a web portal and view their aggregated practice data and their quality improvement progress over time. Topbar is the third tool now available for general practices, helping GPs, PNs, and other staff to be able to clean up data and find information quickly while the patient is on hand.
MPHN staff are able to install any of the above softwares and train you to use them effectively. PEN also provide free webinars weekly for CAT4 and Topbar which we encourage everyone to utilise. PENCS also store a library of CAT4 Recipes which are available for use anytime.