AHDGP is pleased to announce its involvement with a consortium that has been appointed to deliver for the Department of Health and Ageing (DoHA) a 3 year pilot of a coordinated care model for diabetes. The consortium, led by global management consultancy McKinsey and Company, was appointed by DoHA following an open tender process.
Bringing together a broad range of expertise from across the primary care, acute care and academic sectors, the consortium is comprised of the following organisations: General Practice Queensland together with selected divisions across Queensland and South Australia; Queensland Health; SA Health; University of South Australia; and Baker IDI. The consortium is also working in close strategic collaboration with Diabetes Australia Queensland, Diabetes Australia, the Health Consumers Alliance SA, and the Queensland Statewide Clinical Network for Diabetes. Finally, the consortium will draw upon an extensive panel of Australian and International experts, including Professor Ruth Colaguiri of the Menzies Institute, and COO of the Kaiser Permanente, Hal Wolf.
Throughout the pilot period, the consortium will work closely with the federally appointed Diabetes Advisory Group, chaired by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer with representatives from patient and health consumer groups and key primary health care organisations, including general practice, nursing and allied health.
The pilot itself involves three phases: a 6 month design phase, a 2-year implementation phase and a 6 month evaluation phase. During the design phase, the consortium will work closely with Clinical Reference Groups - made up of General Practitioners, allied health professionals, specialists, patients and carers - to refine the model of care that will be trialled. In accordance with the design elements required by the Department of Health and Ageing, the model will include a component of flexible funding and quality improvement payments as well as voluntary patient registration. Other elements that will be explored during the design phase include the introduction of Care Coordinators, definition and application of care pathways and care packages, enabling IT infrastructure and the role of multi-disciplinary teams.
The trial design will involve both an intervention group of GP practices and a control group, to enable a rigorous evaluation of the outcomes. Selection of participating divisions, Medicare Locals and practices will be based on ensuring that the sample is representative of the overall Australian primary care landscape, with a sample size that is large enough to ensure a robust evaluation. Final decisions relating to the number and nature of divisions, Medicare Locals and practices to be involved in the trial will be agreed by the Department of Health and Ageing on the basis of recommendations from the consortium over the coming months.
The next 6 months will be exciting, as the consortium works with DoHA, the Diabetes Advisory Group, our Clinical Reference Groups and other stakeholders to finalise the design of the coordinated care model that will be piloted for the Government over the following two years. We believe the Coordinated Care for Diabetes pilot provides a unique opportunity to explore innovative ways to further improve the quality of care provided to patients with diabetes, to empower patients and their carers and to support Australian clinicians in delivering the best possible care.