RACGP Standards for general practices 4th edition
Foreword
Over the past 12 months, the RACGP National Expert Committee on Standards for General Practices has been revising the Standards to produce this, the 4th edition of the Standards for general practices.
Our Standards are one of the pillars of safety and quality in the Australian healthcare system and are used by over 80% of Australian general practices for accreditation.
In reviewing the Standards for general practices (3rd edition), the National Expert Committee has built on a world class document created through the passion and dedication of past committees with valued input from like-minded RACGP members and other stakeholders within primary care.
The comprehensive and wide ranging process of review that commenced in October 2009 has again tapped the virtue, passions and expert knowledge of many wonderful people and organisations in the primary healthcare sector. During the process of developing successive drafts, field testing proposed new criteria and indicators and writing the final version of the Standards (4th edition), over 700 people and organisations were consulted.
The Standards are designed to be a template for safe and high quality care in the increasingly complex environment of Australian general practice. With three less criteria, 38 less indicators and more explanatory and resource material, we have tried to make the Standards more workable for busy general practices. We would like to thank the large number of people and organisations listed in the acknowledgments for their dedication and support. We would particularly like to thank the National Expert Committee and College staff for their tireless efforts to deliver a new edition.
It is with pride that we present the RACGP Standards for general practices (4th edition).
Dr Lynton Hudson
Chair
National Expert Committee on Standards for General Practices
RACGP
Dr Christopher Mitchell
Immediate Past President
RACGP
and
Professor Claire Jackson
President
RACGP