Seminar - Managing Chronic Conditions in Multidisciplinary Teams in Primary Care: Insights from Australia

Date: 20 September 2024 (Friday)
Time: 15:00 - 16:00
Venue: Seminar Room 4
(G/F, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam)
Registration: https://forms.office.com/r/eGvPe5MNkN

About the Seminar

After 40 years, Australia’s universal health care system, Medicare, is facing significant reform. The changing needs of the population, availability of skilled workforce, and the evolution of technology have prompted government to review the primary health care plan, the scope of practice of the health workforce, and current and future investments needed to strengthen the primary care system to deliver better and more cost-effective outcomes.

To inform these policy discussions, we evaluated a major program and funding mechanism that has supported multidisciplinary collaborative care for patients with chronic conditions in primary care settings for almost 20 years: General practitioner management plans (GPMPs) and team care arrangements (TCAs). While GPMP/TCAs are widely used, there is little evidence on whether they improve the management of chronic conditions. Using diabetes as a case study, we used a state-wide sample of general practices to assess HbA1c control before and after people received a GPMP/TCA.

We are also trialling a new primary care intervention: the ACTMed trial (Activating pharmacists to reduce the frequency of medication-related problems) uses information technology and financial incentives in a whole-of-system approach that defines medicines safety as a proactive and team-based collaboration between people attending general practices, pharmacists, general practitioners, and other health care providers. The implementation of ACTMed was primarily through a quality improvement framework that clinics would already have been familiar with.

Jointly organised with Primary Care Pharmacy Consortium, this Seminar will serve as one of the Continuing Pharmacy Education (CPE) Programmes and 1 CPE point will be awarded after attending the Seminar.

For enquiries, please contact Ms Janet Sun at janetsun@hku.hk.