20 November 2009 GP groups united on collaborative care
On Wednesday this week United General Practice Australia (UGPA) – the coalition of the peak groups representing Australia’s general practitioners – met in Canberra. The primary focus of our discussion was collaborative care arrangements between health professionals.
UGPA issued a joint media statement congratulating the Government on its recent amendment to the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill 2009, which specifies a legal requirement that midwives and nurse practitioners must work in formal collaborative arrangements with medical practitioners. The read the media release visit www.racgp.org.au/ugpa.
UGPA believes the amended Bill provides the most appropriate patient centred model of collaborative care to benefit all Australians, including those in country areas.
The legislative requirement in the Bill is consistent with the Government’s original policy direction to ensure continuity of quality patient care and prevent the fragmentation of patient care services.
The Bill provides a framework of quality primary care delivery that supports team based care that ensures that the role of medical practitioners, particularly the patient’s usual GP, is supported. UGPA wants the amended Bill passed by the Parliament, but recognises that the Bill is just the beginning of the process.
Patients will enjoy better health outcomes when they are treated in a collaborative care model that provides coordinated, continuous and comprehensive patient centred care, delivered by appropriately trained health professionals.
UGPA will continue to engage in a spirit of cooperation to deliver quality primary care services that are among the best in the world and which build on the core strength of the current system, which is general practice.
The member groups of UGPA are: the RACGP, the Australian Medical Association (AMA), the Australian General Practice Network (AGPN), General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA), the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA).
M5 Project - RACGP men's health initiative helping men to help themselves
M5 encourages men and those who care about them to recognise the importance of men forming an ongoing relationship with a GP.
