Accreditation in Primary Health: RACGP Standards for General Practice

Abstract

General Practitioners play a crucial role as “gate-keepers” to the health system. In this context, they have a profound influence on both health outcomes and health expenditure. Since the introduction in 1999 of a formal, peer-driven external accreditation process, over 4,590 Australian general practices have achieved full accreditation. The process of re-ccreditation has commenced, subsequent to a review of the original standards, and with an ongoing focus on continuous quality improvement.

This article describes a typical accreditation survey visit, and explains the accreditation criteria and how they are reviewed by the surveyors. There is discussion also of the impact of this new accreditation system on general practice.