Quality update for practices - August 2023
Welcome to the August newsletter!
This month we would like to highlight:
• He Ako Hiringa - CQI toolkit
• Funding available for research that benefits general practice
• Foundation Standard guidance updates
• Gout Guide
• Update to the Smartsheet ‘how to’ guide
• Smartsheet update - inserting macrons/tohutō
• Healthify He Puna Waiora
• Downloadable Foundation Standard appendix
Please email us at quality@rnzcgp.org.nz if there are any items you would like us to cover in the next newsletter. We enjoy receiving your feedback and if there is anything we can assist you with please let us know.
The Quality Programmes team
He Ako Hiringa – CQI toolkit
The College is encouraging practices to achieve their CQI (continuous quality improvement) module as part of Cornerstone. This allow practices to demonstrate that they are working towards achieving better health outcomes for all New Zealanders. The CQI module is process based, meaning practices can choose a topic to allow the process.
He Ako Hiringa has produced a free CQI toolkit which focuses on antimicrobial stewardship. The toolkit includes templates and examples, along with support to guide practices through a quality improvement model.
Funding available for research that benefits general practice
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners supports research and education that benefits general practice, rural general practice, and rural hospital medicine, and is welcoming applications for its final round of funding for 2023 which opened Wednesday 2 August.
Applications are welcomed from any individual, group or organisation undertaking research in this field. Grants are typically in the range of $5,000 - $20,000 for individual applications, although up to $40,000 can be awarded.
The College’s Research and Education Committee (REC) provides financial support to those conducting research or education projects, and is looking for applications that reflect the five key areas of the College’s Statement of Strategic intent (Te Rautaki):
• Supporting our members
• Improving health equity in New Zealand
• Quality general practices
• Becoming a contemporary and sustainable organisation
• Education excellence.
Previous successful applications have included research into exploring inequity in access to medications for type 2 diabetes, rural placements of health professionals, capitation fees, and identifying threshold concepts to contribute to enhanced general practice teaching and learning.
Applications close on Wednesday, 13 September 2023, and will be considered by the College’s Research and Education Committee (REC).
More information, including guidelines, an application form, and contact information for questions can be found on the College website.
Key dates
• 2 August 2023: Applications open
• 13 September 2023: Applications close
• 11 October 2023: Applicants notified of the outcome
Foundation Standard guidance updates
In our previous newsletter, we shared a list of updated presentations in the Foundation Standard guidance. Some links were incorrect, and this has now been fixed. You can find a list of all the updated presentations below:
• Indicators 8.1 and 8.2 – Implementing clinical governance
• Indicator 9.1 – Repeat Prescribing and auditing
• Indicator 9.2 – Standing orders in general practice
• Indicator 9.3 – Medicines reconciliation and auditing
• Indicator 13.1 and 13.2 – Health and Safety Act and hazardous substances
There have also been a few updates to the resources and text within the guidance. You can find a list of these in the Foundation Standard changes section of our website.
A new resource has been designed for GPs, nurses, and all health teams, to improve equitable gout outcomes. The Gout Guide builds on the outcomes of numerous gout projects, such as the Whanganui GOUT STOP programme and ProCare Gout Collaborative.
The booklet includes information on how gout can affect a patient’s life, and it’s also a tool for the patient who can track their medication dosage and record their uric acid results to reach their treatment goals. The booklet has been published in English, Te Reo Māori, Samoan, and Tongan.
View more information and the booklets.
Update to Smartsheet 'how to’ guide
There have been several updates to the Smartsheet platform since the creation of the ‘how to’ guide. The lengthy document is being removed from the website and will be replaced by bite-sized documents that are modern and easy to follow.
The new guides will be uploaded in the next few weeks, and we will inform practices in their upcoming newsletter.
If there are any topics you feel should be included that have not been covered in the tips and tricks webinar or the current guide, please let us know at quality@rnzcgp.org.nz
Smartsheet update – inserting macrons (tohutō)
You can now insert macrons/ tohutō into cells with ease. There is no longer a need to use the copy and paste function from Microsoft Word, they can now be typed into each section directly.
To do this, you first need to download the Māori keyboard. Kupu o te Rā have created easy instructions to complete the set up. Once you have downloaded the keyboard you can type the macrons straight into Smartsheet cells:
To type a macronised vowel on an Apple Mac, you hold down Alt/Option and press the vowel.
To insert an uppercase vowel, hold the shift key as well.
To type a macronised vowel using Windows, press the ~ key in addition to the vowel. To insert an uppercase vowel, hold the shift key as well.
Kupu o te Rā also detail how to move between the Māori and English keyboards, download it onto your other devices, and spellcheck documents using multiple languages.
Healthify He Puna Waiora
Health Navigator NZ has rebranded as Healthify He Puna Waiora with a new website divided into six areas:
Health A–Z to learn more about a range of health conditions.
Medicines A–Z for info about your medicines.
Hauora Wellbeing for articles and tips on mental and physical wellbeing.
Care & Support for services and supports available to you.
Apps to find app reviews that can help you decide which to use to manage your health.
Tools for tools and resources such as medicine dose calculators.
There is an additional section for healthcare providers that contains a wealth of topics and resources.
Downloadable Foundation Standard appendix
The Quality team have created a downloadable Foundation Standard appendix, in the form of a checklist.
You can now tick off the basic equipment, necessary emergency and resuscitation equipment, and essential basic and emergency medicines once you have viewed them on site.
The PDF file is located in the resources section of our website, under Foundation Standard appendix.
We appreciate receiving your feedback. It helps us to create resources or make changes where possible. Please email quality@rnzcgp.org.nz if you would like to share any suggestions with us.
Teaching practices
Please remember that in order to maintain your teaching status and host a GPEP year 1 registrar, you must have purchased both the CQI and Equity modules. You must either have completed them, or be able to demonstrate that you are enrolled and actively working towards accreditation at a minimum.
The requirement for a teaching practice is to be Foundation Standard certified and have an approved College GP teacher available remains.