Accreditation practice pointer: Our patients receive appropriately tailored information

C4.1 A Our patients receive appropriately tailored information about health promotion, illness prevention, and preventive care.

RACGP Standards for general practice.

The backbone of preventative healthcare, health promotion encourages prevention and protection, rather than treatment. Health promotion also allows clinicians to ensure their patients are provided with information relevant to them, such as culturally relevant flyers or pamphlets on bowel screening to over 45-year-old patients, among others.  

To meet the Criterion, clinicians must document in the patient’s health record discussions or activities relating to preventive healthcare.

They might also:

  • use preventive health guidelines and resources

  • hand out up-to-date pamphlets and brochures

  • provide information on the practice’s website

  • run preventive health activities, such as diabetic education groups and groups to help patients quit smoking

  • have a reminder system to prompt patients of screening activities.

Margot Schoonmaker