1.4 Multidisciplinary teams in
general practice
The AGPN Position Statement on Primary Health Care outlines
the important role of multidisciplinary teams in the delivery of
primary health care.
Multidisciplinary teams are fundamental to primary health care
and have been shown to improve health outcomes, particularly
for those with chronic disease.
The composition of teams will be based on the mix of
clinical skills required for optimal care of individuals and local
communities. GPs, practice nurses and practice managers are
core members of general practice teams. Other team members
can include allied health professionals, psychologists, Aboriginal
health workers, pharmacists, and carers.
Divisions have a major role in supporting effective, multidisciplinary service provider teams that are built and
maintained at the service delivery level.
To ensure effective teams, the primary health care system at the
level of divisions and general practices must:
• feature whole–of-practice approaches to education, training and peer support
• provide training to general practice in communication and
team working skills.
The employment of a nurse in general practice allows for a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, as the nurse has
the skills and ability to undertake and enhance primary care
activities, such as undertaking health assessments, the set-up
and maintenance of a recall system, and carrying out health
promotion activities, patient education, screening and chronic
disease management.
Nurses can also contribute to the general practice by providing technical assistance and support in interdisciplinary areas
such as immunisation and wound care, and may also enable a
practice to increase the services provided to the community.
The ability of appropriately trained nurses to undertake procedures historically undertaken by the general practitioner
such as immunisations, Pap smears and wound care, may
enable the general practitioner to realign personal workloads.6
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