23 September 2016


The journey continues: some reflections

When I became RACGP President just over two years ago, I wrote:

It is a complex and crowded health environment with increasing risks of care fragmentation. GPs are the expert generalists and general practice must be front and central in any health discourse.

Promoting and refining brand GP and brand RACGP is critical. Our college needs to be the ‘go-to’ place for all things general practice.

The RACGP should have a presence in each consult a GP makes, bringing guidance and guidelines on all clinical aspects of patient care. The RACGP should also have a presence in the practice, providing the relevant tools to enhance practice systems. Patients need to know who we are; at the moment we are invisible.

The RACCGP foundation pillars of standards, quality, eHealth, education [and the exam], advocacy and research must remain vibrant and focused.

The RACGP’s foundation pillars remain strong due to the work of our Expert Committees, which are made up of adroit, passionate, articulate and wonderful GPs who research, debate and progress innovation.

Their achievements are remarkable and I hold these colleagues in the highest esteem. They provide the evidence from which we can advocate across the whole spectrum of general practice. On behalf of all RACGP members, I thank them.

These committees would not be effective without the assistance of designated RACGP staff members and their leadership teams, and I again acknowledge their efforts and input.

Directly and indirectly, there is no doubt the RACGP has raised its profile and presence in the life of individual GPs and their practices.

The multiple reports, policies, guidelines and recommendations produced within the college are more easily accessible to all members via the now user-friendly RACGP website. All of the papers we produce are mindful that those in front-line general practice are our core audience and our responsibility is to them.

In 2014, 95% of our membership told us they wanted the RACGP to be advocating on their behalf. The high quality of care we were providing for our patients and our communities was increasingly under threat as a consequence of misaligned health policy decisions and a deep misunderstanding of the primacy of general practice within our health system.

One of my many mantras has been that countries with strong primary healthcare systems have overall improved health outcomes. Australia’s present health system remains hospital-focused, with spiralling unsustainable costs, lack of integration and increased fragmentation of care.

As an academic institution, it is imperative that the RACGP has the evidence to support its words around the cost-effectiveness and patient-centred nature of general practice when in conversation and consultation with other critical stakeholders. This, of course, includes the government.

 We have strong evidence that the ‘Brand GP’ campaign has been a success. Our surveys show many more people understand that GPs have an extraordinary scope of skills and that continuity with a GP/practice improves their health. People better understand that GPs are ‘your specialist in life’.

The ‘Good GP never stops learning’ campaign raised awareness of the RACGP as the academic backbone for the vast majority of Australian GPs.

As a direct consequence of a continued freeze on Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) rebates during this year’s Federal Election, Brand GP provided the stepping stone for an energised media campaign around the fact that equitable patient care and access were under threat. The campaign naturally was focused on our patients. 

The RACGP will remain centred on the best strategy to support its members to continue to provide the best care possible. The ongoing MBS freeze shows a lamentable lack of understanding of the complexity of general practice and the infrastructure required to enhance patient outcomes. 

However, pragmatically, we will provide the business tools for members and their practices to review their organisational structures at this difficult time.

The 2015 release of the RACGP’s Vision for general practice and a sustainable healthcare system funding paper was a seminal moment from which the whole concept of a medical home in the Australian context was proposed. It is imperative the RACGP is intimately involved in the design and appraisal of the upcoming government-sponsored trials. Adequate funding will be the key to their success.

In October 2015, there were three objectives first and foremost in my mind:

1. To continue the impetus of the Brand GP campaign, laying the foundations for future advocacy – this journey continues
2. To increase member engagement via every medium, including social media, and bringing education, quality and standards into the 21st century paradigm via the RACGP website – shareGP has started
3. Conclude the Governance Review, laying the foundations for a nimble and proactive professional organisation – to bediscussed at the GP 16 Annual General Meeting

Identifying future leaders and developing their skills has been another RACGP strategic goal.  The RACGP will be developing and implementing a ‘Future Leaders’ program this year and next, reflecting a prepared and enlightened college.

It has been an honour to serve as RACGP President and I thank you for putting your faith in me. I am indebted to many people for their wonderful support, but my main acknowledgement is to all RACGP members for the amazing work you do every day for our patients and our communities.

The RACGP journey will continue under the leadership of Dr Bastian Seidel, whom I know will be balanced and articulate. I wish him well.

See you at GP16 in Perth next week.

Dr Frank R Jones

RACGP President


GP16 in Perth – just one week to go

Book your day registrations for the profession’s most important conference of the year. 


New type 2 diabetes guidelines

The RACGP, in conjunction with Diabetes Australia, has launched their revised guidelines designed to support GPs and help them diagnose and manage type 2 diabetes more effectively.

General practice management of type 2 diabetes – 2016–18 is free to download on the RACGP and Diabetes Australiawebsites. Copies of the guidelines will be distributed to RACGP members, endocrinologists and diabetes educators across Australia.


Practice Based Assessment Pathway – applications close 30 September

The Practice Based Assessment Pathway pilot program will begin in 2017. This new pathway replaces the former Practice Based Assessment (PBA) and has been developed in response to a comprehensive review and consultation process.

Interested candidates can begin the application process by accessing the Eligibility Self-Assessment tool on the RACGP website.

Applications for the Practice Based Assessment Pathway will close on Friday 30 September.


Assessing fitness to drive

The National Transport Commission and Austroads are pleased to announce the release of Assessing Fitness to Drive 2016, a new edition of national medical standards for driver licensing which will come into effect on 1 October.

A detailed discussion of the changes is included in the publication’s project report, which can be downloaded from the Austroads website.


Clinical Pearl

Painless, progressive weakness – Could this be motor neurone disease?

Motor neurone disease (MND), a progressive and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disease, is often difficult to clinically diagnose. There is no single investigation specific to MND and no sensitive disease-specific biomarker. Diagnosis is based on symptoms, clinical findings and the results of electrodiagnostic, neuroimaging and laboratory studies. Rapid and accurate diagnosis is crucial to ensuring the needs of people living with MND are met from the earliest possible stage. 

GPs now have access to a new diagnostic tool developed by MND Australia that highlights the disease’s ‘red flags’. Adapted from the MND Association of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, Painless, progressive weakness – Could this be motor neurone disease? aims to assist Australian GPs in recognising MND, expediting accurate diagnosis by a neurologist.

Delegates attending GP16 will have a copy of Painless, progressive weakness – Could this be motor neurone disease? in their conference satchel. This resource was recently approved by the RACGP as an Accepted Clinical Resource and can be downloaded from the MND Australia website.


In Practice poll results

ePIP Shared Health Summary upload targets

The RACGP has surveyed members over the past three weeks in order to establish how many practices will achieve the mandated Shared Health Summary (SHS) upload target for the July quarter to remain eligible for Practice Incentives Program eHealth (ePIP) payment.

While the majority of respondents indicated they were confident that they would achieve their SHS upload targets (56%), a significant number (17%) indicated they would not achieve their targets and a further 13% said they are no longer participating in the ePIP.

These results demonstrate a lack of support for the changes and create a significant financial risk for general practice. The purpose of the ePIP is to encourage general practice to stay up-to-date with health technologies and to adopt new technologies as they emerge. If practices lose funding to maintain their existing technology this will begin to erode the existing eHealth foundations that support patient care.

The RACGP will continue to advocate for more meaningful and useful ePIP incentives that support data accuracy and quality, and the appropriate and timely sharing of data across the healthcare sector.

The RACGP thanks all poll respondents. The results and feedback will be used to ensure the RACGP is best placed to represent the views of the profession.


Media enquiries

Journalists and media outlets seeking comment and information from the RACGP should contact:

John Ronan

Senior Media Advisor