Division Programs

| Australian Better Initiative (ABHI)
| Australian Primary Care Collabratives (APCC)
| Aged Care Access Initiative (ACAI)

In February 2006, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) announced a four-year, national program called the Australian Better Health Initiative (ABHI) to strengthen the health system's focus on promoting good health and reducing the burden of chronic disease.

There are five priority areas identified under ABHI:

1. Promoting Health Lifestyles
2. Supporting Early Detection of Lifestyle risk factors and chronic disease
3. Supporting lifestyle and risk factor modification
4. Encouraging active patient self management
5. Improving integration and coordination of care

The Division received a small amount of funding to focus on priority area 5. The project under this priority is called ABHI Integration Program and its aim is to promote solutions to primary care integration between general practice and other local health providers that will assist in delivery of patient care.
The Division is working in a consortium. The consortium consists of Hunter Rural, New England and North West Slopes Divisions of General Practice. Hunter Rural is the leading Division. The consortium will investigate the barriers and opportunities for improvement within the current primary care systems and processes. Strategies to improve the primary care systems will be identified and implemented.

As part of the ABHI project the Barwon Division is providing support to the Manilla HealthOne Project as well as the Gunnedah Integrated Primary Health Care Centre Project (www.grhc.com.au).

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Australian Primary Care Collabratives (APCC)
Program Co-ordinator: Alicia Pratt
Contact: 02 67 925514 or Email: apratt@barwondgp.org.au

If you’d like to create a better practice all round, consider the Australian Primary Care Collaboratives Program.

The Australian Primary Care Collaboratives (APCC) Program is funded by the Department of Health and Ageing and delivered by the Improvement Foundation (Australia) Ltd.

To date, the APCC Program has led to key changes within Australian primary care and improved health outcomes for more than 236,000 Australians living with diabetes and coronary heart disease.

The APCC Program assists Australian General Practices to find better ways to provide primary health care services to patients through shared learning, peer support, training, education, support systems, and the sound understanding and effective application of quality improvement methods and skills.

Barwon Division of General Practice has been involved in the program for 12 months and has made significant improvements related to:

• Improved patient outcomes through better management of diabetes and coronary heart disease (ie. Greater than 60% of Diabetic patients with HbA1c<7)

For information about the APCC Program visit www.apcc.org.au

The Warialda Medical Centre has been participating in Collaboratives

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Aged Care Access Initiative (ACAI)
Program Co-ordinator: Carmel O'Sullivan
Contact: 02 67 925514 or Email: cosullivan@barwondgp.org.au

In July 2008 Aged Care GP Panels Initiative funding was redirected to the Aged Care Access Intitiative (ACAI). The aim of the ACAI is to improve access to primary care (GP and allied health services) for residents of aged care facilities through:

• An incentive payment through the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) to encourage GPs to provide more services in RACFs. The PIP payments will be administered through Medicare Australia; and
• A payment for clinical care provided by Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in RACFs, where these services are not currently covered by Medicare or other government funding arrangements.

The ACAI is managed by GP NSW with Barwon Division of General Practice contracted to deliver the Allied Health Services component by employing or subcontracting Allied health Professionals.
The provision of clinical services to residents may include:

• Individual one-on-one services which may include case conferencing and care planning;
• Group services which must be conducted by an appropriately qualified allied health provider for example group exercise and falls prevention.

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