The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has launched the fifth edition of its Standards for general practices (the standards) in a move to keep pace with the changing medical environment and support patient safety in contemporary general practice.
Launching the Standards RACGP at the GP17 conference in Sydney, RACGP President Dr Bastian Seidel said the latest edition was a vital addition to every general practice in Australia.
“The 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,” Dr Seidel said.
“The ultimate aim of our Standards is to protect patients from harm by supporting general practices in identifying and addressing gaps in their systems and processes.”
“We conducted an extensive consultation process in order to produce Standards that are truly useful in general practice today and will continue to be valuable and relevant for many years.”
Dr Seidel said there have been significant changes to the Standards, since it was last published in 2010.
“The fifth edition of the Standards are far more patient-centred and outcome-focused,” Dr Seidel said.
“Every general practice is unique and the Standards have been written to reflect this.
“They will encourage GPs and their practice teams to set up systems and processes that reflect the unique needs of their practice and make it much easier to develop and maintain their quality and safety processes.”
Dr Seidel said the RACGP is a world leader in setting standards for GPs.
“Other countries are now using our Standards as a guide, when developing their own standards for general practice,” Dr Seidel said.
“We are exceptionally proud that our profession has taken ownership of this space for many years and its Standards meet international best practice benchmarks for safety and quality in healthcare.”