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IF launches new APCC Diabetes Prevention and Management Wave IF is launching an exciting new wave of the Australian Primary Care Collaboratives (APCC) Program. The Diabetes Prevention and Management wave (wave 7) aims to help general practices and health services improve the care of patients with, or at risk of developing diabetes. This wave will involve 48 general practices and health services in a ‘hybrid’ wave, which consists of two national learning workshops and two virtual workshops. Participating practices and health services will receive hands-on support, the ability to monitor improvements via the IF web portal, and the opportunity for sharing ideas and experiences with colleagues. For more information about this new wave, please visit http://www.apcc.org.au/getting_involved/, contact IF on (08) 8422 7400 or apcc@improve.org.au. Results update - Diabetes Prevention and Management Wave (Wave 6) Practices and health services in the current Diabetes Prevention and Management Wave of the APCC Program have now passed their six month milestone. With two virtual learning workshops still to be completed, the 67 participating practices and health services currently involved in this wave have recorded some excellent results to date. To view the trend graphs for the first six months of this wave, please visit http://apcc.org.au/about_the_APCC/program_results/. Podcasts of the APCC Diabetes Prevention and Management virtual learning workshops are available for downloading. Podcasts can be saved on your local drive so they can be accessed at any time. Click the headings below and click ‘save’ when prompted to download the first two virtual workshop podcasts. Learning workshop 2: Topics discussed include 'Who is in your team?', 'Barriers to making change' and 'Getting support from outside the health service'. Learning workshop 3: Topics discussed focused on self-management support for patients with diabetes. The fifth learning workshop will be held over a virtual medium, commencing the week of 28 November 2011. IF announces the eCollaborative Wave IF is pleased to announce a new Collaborative wave focused on improving chronic disease care and self-management using technology. The Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) will be launched next year and the 'eCollaborative – 21st Century Patient Care and Self Management' wave will support general practices and health services to improve outcomes for patients with chronic disease, improve patient self management and be ready for the PCEHR when it becomes operational. IF will provide further information about this wave through APCC mailing lists in the near future. For more information about the eCollaborative visit the IF website: http://www.improve.org.au/our-work/e-collaborative/ South Australian Royal Australian College of General Practice Education Provider Forum In October IF Program Manager Bryan Foley, together with Practice Manager Prashiba Thavarajedev from Montague Farm Medical Centre (an APCC participating service) were invited to present a session on the Model for Improvement to RACGP accredited providers of education, across South Australia. There is an increased focus on the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycle in the RACGP’s Quality Improvement and Continuing Professional Development (QI&CPD) program, with GPs eligible to claim category 1 activity points by completing individual and practice team based PDSAs. Practices and health services can use the IF web portal to input and manage PDSAs, and print them out for submission to the RACGP. More information on the RACGP requirements for PDSAs can be found on their website: www.racgp.org.au IF is pleased to announce that the new Online Community Health Reporting Environment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services (OCHREStreams), has now been launched. The OCHREStreams system will help to reduce the burden of reporting experienced by Aboriginal Medical Services and Community Controlled Health Organisations when reporting to the Office for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health. For more infromation visit the OCHREStreams public facing website at http://www.ochrestreams.org.au. The reporting pages are restricted to registered health services who log in with a username and password.
GP Plus Practice Nurse Initiative, Round Two IF is again supporting the Adelaide North East Division of General Practice (ANEDGP) to deliver its second round of the GP Plus Practice Nurse Initiative (GPPPNI) Collaborative program. The first of two GPPPNI workshops was held in Adelaide on Tuesday 27 September. There were 54 delegates in attendance from five Divisions and 19 practices and health services across South Australia. The second workshop is scheduled for 2 March 2012. If you would like IF to support your organisation in delivering a quality improvement or Collaborative program, please contact the Business Development and Learning team, on (+61) 8 8422 7465 or email workshops@improve.org.au. Australian General Practice Network (AGPN) National Forum IF is attending the AGPN National Forum as a Support Sponsor. The AGPN National Forum provides an excellent opportunity for networking with general practices and health services, Divisions and Medicare Local staff. Dr Dale Ford, Principal Clinical Advisor at IF will be presenting during the ‘Quality Performance and Accountability’ session on Friday 18 November. Upgrade to the Pen Clinical Audit Tool (CAT) Pen Computer Systems have upgraded the CAT to version three. The CAT upgrade will provide users with greater functionality by using the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5, which provides enhanced development capabilities. CAT version three is scheduled to improve: CAT version two will continue to be supported, but no longer upgraded for new functionality. To upgrade your CAT, follow these simple steps: *Note, you will need Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 installed on your computer for the CAT upgrade to work. If you don’t have the latest version when clicking the above link, you will be prompted to install it. CAT is free to download for all APCC Program participants. For more information, please contact the IF data team on (08) 8422 7400, or email data@improve.org.au. Alternatively you can contact the Pen help desk on 1800 762 993. Show Us Your Lungs – Australian Lung Foundation Awareness Campaign Did you know that 1 in 3 people think their lungs are unimportant? The Australian Lung Foundation’s new campaign ‘Show Us Your Lungs!’ urges Australians to start taking their lung health seriously. Part of the message is to recognise early symptoms of lung disease, such as breathlessness and cough, and to see their GP about these symptoms. Clinical resources to support GPs in the diagnosis and management of lung diseases can be found at www.lungfoundation.com.au. Posters and flyers for waiting rooms are also available by contacting the Lung Foundation on 1800 654 301. World COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Day World COPD Day will be promoted during Lung Health Awareness Month, in November. The Lung Foundation offers support and event resources to alert people to the prevalence, symptoms and treatment for COPD. The focus on this year’s Lung Awareness Month is lung function screening. Brochures, posters and balloons are available for GPs who would like to set up a display in their practice. Please contact the Lung Foundation on 1800 654 301 for more information. Through the COPD and Chronic Disease Prevention and Self Management Wave of the APCC Program, the 83 participating general practices and health services have recorded significant improvements in COPD health, including an overall improvement of 23% in recorded spirometry tests. Roles Babies, Babies Babies! |
