Accreditation against the Standards


Who can gain accreditation against the Standards?

In April 2013, the RACGP revised the definition of a general practice for the purposes of accreditation.  The RACGP has established three core criteria which specify the threshold requirements for determining whether a particular general practice or health service is eligible to be accredited against the Standards.

The three core criteria which must be met if a general practice or health service wants to be accredited against the Standards are:

  • practice or health services operates within the model of general practice described in the RACGP definition of general practice; and
  • GP services are predominantly  of a general practice nature
  • practice or health service is capable of meeting all mandatory indicators in the Standards.

For further information, please contact your accreditation agency or the RACGP on standards@racgp.org.au.
 

How can a general practice become accredited against the Standards?

General practices who wish to gain formal accreditation against the Standards are required to do so via an independent accreditation agency.  The only model of third party review supported by the RACGP for these Standards is peer review where one surveyor must be a general practitioner.

To commence the process of gaining accreditation against the Standards, a general practice should choose an accreditation agency that will be able to talk them through this process, explain what is required and support them throughout the process.  It normally takes a practice between 12 - 18 months to prepare for their accreditation surveyor visit.


Where a clinic chooses not to be accredited or does not meet the definition of a general practice, can they still use the Standards?

Yes. The RACGP encourages all services that provide primary health care to consider the Standards as a template for quality improvement and risk management.  Most standards and related criteria will be relevant and adhering to these will enable practices to build the fundamentals of quality and safety into their systems.

 

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