The outbreak of an infectious disease such as pandemic influenza will challenge all facets of Australia’s already stretched health system. General practitioners (GPs) and practice teams play an integral role in providing essential health services to patients and supporting public health goals in disease control.
When faced with a disease outbreak like a pandemic, the community will turn to general practice. To ensure the continuation of high-quality clinical care to patients, it is vital that practices have an up-to-date pandemic plan in place so they are prepared, well stocked and ready to respond.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is committed to supporting GPs and practice teams in delivering quality healthcare.
Practices that are prepared for a pandemic are more likely to have effective continuity of care arrangements for their patients while ensuring that business operations continue to run as smoothly as possible.
Furthermore, practices that have a pandemic response plan in place will ultimately be better positioned to meet the health needs of their community.
We would like to thank the people and organisations listed in the acknowledgements for their dedication and support. We particularly would like to thank members of the Pandemic Taskforce and RACGP staff for their efforts in contributing to the development of this innovative resource.