3.9 Practice accreditation

Medicare Australia (formerly the Health Insurance Commission)

Accreditation is a voluntary process undertaken and paid for by individual practices. It provides a mechanism for demonstrating and acknowledging the quality of a general practice and provides a pathway for quality improvement. Nurses play a vital role in their contribution to quality and safety at the practice.

Quality in care can be described in terms of the structure, process and outcomes of the general practice:

• structure relates to material resources, facilities, equipment and the range of services provided at the general practice
• process relates to what is done in giving and receiving care (eg, the consultation, ordering tests or prescribing)
• outcomes relate to the effects of care on patients and communities (eg, immunisation coverage rates, diabetes management, or cervical
• screening).

All staff should participate in the accreditation process.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Standards for General Practices form one of the benchmarks of quality and safety in Australian general practice and provide future directions for quality improvement. Practices are reviewed against these standards.

The Standards outline the aspects of general practice that support high quality and safe comprehensive care, including attention to the services practices provide, the rights and needs of patients, quality improvement and education processes, practice management, and the physical aspects of the practice.

The general practice initially registers for accreditation with one of the two recognised organisations, Australian General Practice Accreditation Ltd (AGPAL) and General Practice Australia Accreditation plus (GPA Accreditation plus), and then completes the cycle of accreditation that involves:

• self assessment against the agreed standards
• peer review survey (practice visits) of the practice’s organisation and facilities
• the commencement of a continuous quality improvement cycle that consists of: plan to do something, do it, study the results and act to
• improve (PDSA = Plan Do Study Act).

Accredited practices can access the Commonwealth Government Practice Incentives Program (PIP).

For more information on accreditation visit:

http://www.racgp.org.au
http://www.agpal.com.au
http://www.gpa.net.au