General practice
The cornerstone of primary care
We support general practice as the foundation of primary care. In our region, general practice includes GPs as well as nursing and allied health professionals and practice administrators, working together to improve care.
Well-supported, high-quality general practice is key to effective primary care and positive health outcomes across the region.
4786
electronic care plans across 43 practices.
55
education events for GPs and practice staff.
700
GPs and practice staff attended education events.
71%
increase in GP use of Older Adults HealthPathways in Illawarra Shoalhaven.
24%
of our region (18+) received a COVID-19 vaccination (NSW 17%).
362
people with complex needs referred to the Care Coordination Program.
In 2022/23 we:
Approved 199 Strengthening Medicare Grants that invest in general practice innovation, training, equipment, and minor capital works.
Funded a national online learning course to help general practices support patients through grief and bereavement.
Secured funding for Inca, an integrated shared care platform now in use across 66 practices, to support primary care providers to better manage their patients’ chronic conditions in the community.
Supported six additional practices to embed shared medical appointments to enable peer support and group facilitated discussion in areas such as weight management, chronic pain and quitting smoking.
Funded 7 general practices to implement a care coordination program and shared care platform (Inca) to contribute to better health outcomes for people living with chronic and complex conditions.
Supported 163 general practices to improve care and patient outcomes, and enhance practice capacity through Practice Incentive Payment quality improvement initiatives focusing on population health, including diabetes, heart disease and hypertension management.
Appointed Medical Directors for Illawarra Shoalhaven and SNSW
This year we appointed Dr Katherine Michelmore as Medical Director for Illawarra Shoalhaven to focus on primary care quality improvement, strengthening relationships between COORDINARE and general practice, clinical governance, and supporting local research projects.
We aslo appointed Dr Billie Rajabali as Medical Director for Southern NSW region to focus on workforce planning, HealthPathways, and primary care development in SNSW.
Learn more
COVID-19 support for GPs
This year we continued our proactive approach to COVID-19 through the distribution of protective equipment, grants for COVID-19 vaccinations in priority populations and education events.
We have also developed a quality improvement toolkit, Living with COVID in the community, to help practices identify and implement processes to support at-risk members of the community.
Learn moreCo-design for cultural safety
COORDINARE funded five mainstream general practices to help them form partnerships with Aboriginal people and dedicate more time to ‘yarning’.
Practices engaged in cultural competency training and then joined 28 Aboriginal community leaders in co-design training.
Find out more
Improving care in Braidwood
Braidwood patients are receiving better care as a result of Braidwood Medical Centre’s participation in COORDINARE’s Sentinel Practices Data Sourcing (SPDS) program.
This program provides practices with the resources, training, and innovative tools to improve patient electronic health records and data management, which drives quality improvement and improves primary care planning.
Braidwood Medical Centre’s participation in this program has resulted in significant improvements to screening and early detection of chronic kidney disease, and improved data for population health and service planning. Overall, screening for renal disease is up by approximately 10%.
Learn more about SPDS
Interested in learning more?
Visit our Health Professionals webpage to access more resources and connect with us.