The work your practice undertakes as part of the toolkit can contribute to your eligibility for the Practice Incentive Program Quality Improvement Incentive.
Speak to your primary health network (PHN) representative for more information.
This toolkit will guide your practice through the steps required to:
The work your practice undertakes as part of the toolkit can contribute to your eligibility for the Practice Incentive Program Quality Improvement Incentive.
Speak to your primary health network (PHN) representative for more information.
Once you have completed the toolkit, your team will be able to:
People with breast, cervical and bowel cancers detected through national cancer screening programs have better cancer survival outcomes than those diagnosed who had never been screened.1
In 2018, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) conducted an analysis of cancer outcomes and screening behaviour for national cancer screening programs in Australia. This analysis revealed the following:
This study looked at people aged 50-69 who were diagnosed with bowel cancer between 2006 (when the screening program started) and 2012.
Finding: People with cancers diagnosed through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program had a 40% lower risk of dying by 2015 than those who had not been invited during the study period.
This study looked at women aged 50–69 who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2002 and 2012.
Finding: Women with cancers diagnosed through BreastScreen had a 42% lower risk of dying by 2015 than women with cancers who had never been screened.
This study looked at women aged 20–69 who were diagnosed with cervical cancer between 2002 and 2012.
Finding: Women with cancers diagnosed through cervical screening had an 87% lower risk of dying by 2015 than women with cancers who had never had a Pap test.
Patients who are reminded by their GP to attend cancer screening are more likely to screen.2,3,4,5
Formative research conducted by the Cancer Institute NSW found that 60% of patients surveyed reported they were more likely to screen when reminded by their GP than when reminded by a registry only.2
General practices across NSW and Australia have completed cancer screening quality improvement projects to trial ways to improve cancer screening participation.
Practices participating in Cancer Institute NSW cancer screening quality improvement programs found that:
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has a resource, Putting Prevention Into Practice ('The Green Book'), which provides guidance on how to overcome the factors that can limit the effective delivery of preventative care.4
This toolkit puts together lessons and evidence from the cancer screening programs and the 'The Green Book' to give you a clear and easy-to-follow roadmap for improving cancer screening rates.
The toolkit is structured into five modules that can be completed at your own pace.
As a guide, aim to complete one module per month. Each module begins with a work plan that guides you through implementing the module.
Depending on your practice’s needs, the toolkit can support 'fine tuning' of existing systems, or creation of whole new approaches to cancer screening.
Collaboration and planning are key to successful implementation of quality improvement activities. Before you begin working through this toolkit, it’s important to complete the following steps.
Complete these important steps before you get started.
Download a Quick-start guide about this toolkit.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ Putting Prevention Into Practice ('The Green Book’) provides guidance on how to overcome the factors that can limit the effective delivery of preventative care.4