“This report takes the pulse of the general practice profession, and in turn the front line of healthcare for all Australians,

GPs are the cornerstone of healthcare delivery within Australia. Every year, general practice touches the lives of every person, family and community in Australia, with the majority of us seeing our GP several times a year.”

President-elect of the RACGP, Dr Harry Nespolon, has launched General Practice: Health of the Nation to Australia’s key parliamentarians and decision makers at a parliamentary breakfast last week

Download RACGP Health-of-the-Nation-2018-Report

 ” The National Guide is a practical resource intended for all health professionals delivering primary healthcare to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.

Its purpose is to provide GPs and other health professionals with an accessible, user-friendly guide to best practice preventive healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.

The reviewing and updating of the second (2012) edition of the National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (National Guide) was a joint initiative of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

The National Guide supports healthcare providers to use the opportunity with every clinic visit to prevent disease, and to find it early.”

See section 2 Below 

Part 1 :For the second year, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has  : compiled its annual health check-up on general practice, showing the areas where Australia’s primary healthcare system continues to thrive, whilst also highlighting areas of concern.

VIEW Health of a Nation Video 

The report highlights the reasons why patients see their GP and how patients interact with the primary health system. It also flags areas of major concern which need to be addressed to help ensure that Australians maintain healthy lives and stay out of hospital.

“Patients have shown strong connections to general practice, nearly 80% of patients can identify their own GP and can see them when needed.

“But the report also highlights areas which require urgent attention so that general practice does not get left behind, and patients are not short changed.

Key highlights of the report reveal that;

• managing psychological issues and obesity continue to be the most significant concern to GPs,
• GPs are calling for urgent government action on Medicare, including better supports for mental health services and obesity prevention,
• nearly 90% of Australians see a GP every year, the majority more than once a year,
• 45% of practicing GPs are female, with the percentage growing, and
• despite general practice being the most widely accessed healthcare service, it receives less than 9% of overall government healthcare funding.

“If there is not a substantial and coordinated push to address these persisting health issues, – I am fearful of what the future may hold for Australia’s healthcare system..

“I hope that parliamentarians from all sides take note of the health of the nation today and remember that evidence based preventive care is always the best option for all Australians.”

Part 2. NACCHO and RACGP National Guide and Podcasts

This edition:

• equips primary healthcare providers and their teams with a comprehensive and concise set of recommendations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, with additional information about tailoring advice depending on risk and need
• advises on activities that can help prevent disease, detect early and unrecognised disease, and promote health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, while allowing for local and regional variations.
• encourages clinicians to consider the social determinants of health when providing preventive healthcare
• Includes the following new topics and features:

• • Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder
  • Preventing child maltreatment – supporting families to optimise child safety and wellbeing
  • Family abuse and violence
  • Prevention of lung cancer
  • Young person lifecycle summary wall chart

The following items are available to download:

• the National Guide, which contains evidence statements, recommendations, risk calculation tables and an outline of what is new in the third edition
• the evidence base: the collection of evidence underpinning the guide and recommendations (see the Methodology section ‘Searching the evidence base and drafting recommendations’)
• child, young people and adult lifecycle summary wall charts listing activities recommended at each age group

The National Guide can be used in conjunction with the RACGP Guidelines for preventive activities in general practice ‘red book’ and with the Medicare Benefits Schedule rebate item 715: Health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

New to the third edition!  National Guide podcasts

Subscribe to the National Guide Podcast to hear host Lauren Trask, NACCHO Implementation Officer and CQI expert, speak to general practitioners and researchers on updates and changes in the third edition of the National Guide. Listeners will hear about the latest evidence on a range of topics from authors of the National Guide – grassroots general practitioners and researchers with experience working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as well as Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.

Download the Guideline and supporting documentation

• National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Third edition  (PDF 10MB)
• Child preventive health lifecycle summary chart (A3) (PDF 555KB)
• Young people preventive health lifecycle summary chart(A3) (PDF 1MB)
• Adult preventive health lifecycle summary chart (A3) (PDF 1MB)
• Evidence base: National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people Third edition(PDF 9.8MB)

Part 3 :  National guide to a preventive health assessment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Third edition) Workshop 10 October