Accreditation practice pointer: quality improvement systems

QI1.1 C Our practice seeks feedback from the team about our quality improvement systems and the performance of these systems.

RACGP Standards for general practice.

Quality improvement must be embedded in general practice procedure to ensure optimum clinical care is delivered. General practice can achieve quality improvement activity by encouraging the practice team to provide feedback about procedures and systems. This feedback could be gathered at regular scheduled practice team meetings, via an internal survey or in a suggestion box, for example. All feedback should be addressed, considered and documented.

Quality improvement activities might include:

  • changes to the day-to-day operations of the practice, such as scheduling of appointments and record-keeping practices

  • responding to feedback or complaints from patients, carers or other relevant parties

  • analysing clinical data to identify preventative health concerns

  • auditing clinical databases

  • analysing and addressing near misses and errors.

Margot Schoonmaker