The draft of the RACGP Standards for general practices 6th edition is here – have your say

The 6th edition of the RACGP Standards for general practices aims to support a significant evolution in the way practices ensure quality and safety. The proposed changes are now available and open for industry consultation.

As these proposed changes are still under review, now is the time for practices, surveyors and industry stakeholders to have their say. The RACGP is seeking feedback from across Australia to ensure the 6th edition reflects the realities of practice operations and patient care.

We encourage all practices to review the full draft of the proposed changes and share your insights. The RACGP will conduct multiple consultation rounds, refining the Standards based on the feedback received.

You can submit your feedback from now until 20 October 2024, ensuring your voice is part of shaping the future of quality general practice care in Australia here or by emailing standards@racgp.org.au.

Please read our snapshot summary below to get a feel for the proposed changes from the 5th to the 6th edition of the RACGP Standards and the new Standards structure.

Key proposed changes from the fifth to the sixth edition

The 6thedition introduces a refined structure that includes four standards:

1. Foundations of general practice – Covering essential elements of practice setup and operations.
2. Clinical governance – Focusing on systems for maintaining the quality and safety of care.
3. Patient participation – Encouraging meaningful patient engagement to improve care quality.
4. Continuous quality improvement (CQI) – Supporting ongoing assessment and performance improvement.

These four standards are supported by 34 criteria, grouped into thematic categories for a more streamlined accreditation process.

Emphasising consumer needs

In collaboration with consumers, the RACGP has included consumer statements in the 6th edition. These statements highlight the importance of each criterion from the patient’s perspective, ensuring the Standards reflect patient expectations and contribute to better health outcomes.

 

What’s new in the 6th edition Standards?

Environmental sustainability

The 6th edition introduces a strong focus on environmental sustainability, encouraging practices to adopt measures that reduce their environmental impact while promoting patient wellbeing and satisfaction. Practices should minimise energy consumption, reduce waste, and integrate eco-friendly practices into daily operations. This approach contributes to improved care and helps mitigate the practice’s environmental footprint.

The theme of environmental sustainability appears throughout the Standards, with specific requirements across various criteria:

• At indicators F.3►A and F.3►B in Criterion F.3 – Environmental sustainability and responsibility:
  • Practices should actively minimise their environmental impact.
  • At least one team member should promote and engage in environmental sustainability efforts within the practice.
• At indicator CG.4►C in Criterion CG.4 – Clinical and Medicines Guidelines:
  • Practices should provide resources and strategies for sustainable clinical practices, including promoting environmentally friendly options in clinical decision-making.
• At indicator PP.6►B in Criterion PP.6 – Health Promotion and Preventative Care:
  • Practices should provide patients with environmental information to help them make informed choices that benefit both their health and the environment, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility.
• At indicators CQI.1►B and CQI.1►C in Criterion CQI.1 – Continuous Quality Improvement Activities:
  • Practices should monitor, report, and track progress on their environmental performance, using impact metrics to assess and manage their overall environmental footprint.

By integrating these sustainable practices, the 6th edition aims to enhance general practices’ contribution to broader environmental goals while ensuring high-quality patient care.

Defining and planning for your practice

Criterion F.1 – Defining and Planning for Your Practice asks practices to establish and monitor their mission, values, and maintain both strategic and operational plans. These plans set measurable goals and objectives to guide the practice’s operations and ensure professionalism, quality, and leadership.

Response Planning

The 6th edition expands the scope of response planning. In addition to emergency response planning, practices must now plan for unexpected events that may disrupt business operations. This broader approach to response planning helps practices consistently identify, document, and manage risks, ensuring they can continue providing clinical care during emergencies or other interruptions.

Qualifications, education, and training of healthcare practitioners

Practices no longer need to retain registration and CPD documentation for each practitioner but must still ensure all practitioners have current national registration and the necessary accreditation or certification.

Digital care

Recognising the growing role of technology, Criterion F.10 requires practices to ensure the safe, secure, and effective use of digital healthcare, including telehealth. Practices must integrate digital tools into patient care while ensuring security and quality outcomes.

Clinical information systems

Criterion CG.1 requires practices to manage all patient information using digital systems, phasing out paper-based systems. This ensures accurate and secure patient health records and supports effective data analysis for quality improvement.

Patient identification

Criterion CG.2 provides more flexibility in how practices match patients to their health records. The 6th edition no longer mandates the use of three identifiers, giving practices room to choose the method that best suits their needs.

Facilitating complete patient health records

The 6th edition focuses on codable patient data to support continuous quality improvement. Practices must ensure:

• Demographic information includes sex assigned at birth, gender, and pronouns.
• Nationally recognised medical vocabulary is used for coding.
• 100% of active patient records include known allergies or indicate no known allergies.

This ensures improved data management and quality care.

Patient health records for the purpose of accreditation

The updated Standards refine indicators for patient health records, ensuring data is codable and actionable to support quality improvement activities. This facilitates more accurate record-keeping and better care.

Clinical and medicines guidelines

Criterion CG.4 requires practices to give clinicians current, evidence-based information on medicines and clinical guidelines. This supports best-practice prescribing and access to emergency care resources.

Immunisations

Practices must ensure that all team members receive the recommended immunisations based on their role and risks, according to both the Australian Immunisation Handbook and relevant state or territory mandates, ensuring the health and safety of the entire practice.

Informed consent

Informed consent includes consent for third-party presence, clinical procedures, and medicines. This update aligns practices with legislative requirements and best practice standards, ensuring comprehensive consent procedures.

Engaging consumers

The 6th edition strengthens consumer engagement by encouraging practices to involve patients in reviewing and improving care. This approach promotes a collaborative, outcomes-focused CQI process.

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) activities

Criterion CQI.1 requires that practices undertake at least one clinical improvement activity every 12 months. This flexible approach allows practices to tailor CQI activities to their specific needs while promoting ongoing improvements in care.

Accreditation – eligibility and assessment

The 6th edition broadens the definition of general practices to include non-traditional services, such as mobile and outreach services. However, services with limited scope, such as telehealth-only clinics, remain ineligible for accreditation under these Standards.

The RACGP has stipulated that practices can choose to be accredited under either the 5th or 6th edition Standards for the first 12 months following the publication of the 6th edition – which is currently planned for early 2026. After this transition period, all practices seeking accreditation must meet the 6th edition Standards.

Our team will continue to provide you with updates as we continue to work with the RACGP as they refine and test the RACGP Standards 6th edition.

We appreciate your patience as we wait for further information regarding timelines and program readiness. We’re committed to providing you with timely updates to ensure you and your team are informed and prepared for this transition when the time comes.