I Get The Feeling The New Quality Assurance PIP May Not Have Been Properly Thought Through.

This appeared last week:

'Unacceptable risks': GPs raise concerns over tomorrow's major PIP revamp

They warn that the privacy of patient data extracted from practice software may be at risk

31st July 2019

By Geir O'Rourke

A group of GPs have written an open letter urging caution on tomorrow’s multimillion-dollar revamp of the Practice Incentives Program, claiming there are not enough safeguards for patient data.

From 1 August, practices will be able to sign up to the PIP quality improvement (QI) incentive, which pays GP clinics to collect patient data and send it to primary health networks.

The scheme will see practices receive $5 per standardised whole patient equivalent (SWPE) per year in return for data on 10 'quality improvement measures', including patients’ smoking status and weight classification.

It will be worth up to $50,000 per practice taking part.

Primary health networks will take the de-identified information from practice computers using extraction software.

None of the data will be shared with the Department of Health, although the primary health networks will be tasked with telling the department which practices have submitted data.

The government has set rules for the primary health networks governing all other uses of the information, including a ban on selling the data to commercial entities.

But a group of GPs, led by former AMA president Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, say the department’s rules do not go far enough to protect the information, placing patients’ privacy at risk and exposing doctors to medicolegal challenges.

“The proposed use of intermediary organisations (primary health networks) and commercial extraction vendors introduces significant risk and complexity regarding data governance, privacy and confidentiality,” they wrote.

“In our view, these risks are unacceptable.”

Those issues could only be solved by creating a single national data repository and creating mechanisms to allow patients to opt-out of the initiative. 

Dr Haikerwal said the letter would be sent on Wednesday to the RACGP, AMA, RDAA and ACRRM, along with medical defence organisations and the association of practice managers to raise awareness of the issues around the scheme.

The authors of the letter also included Dr Rob Hosking, RACGP's chair of the practice technology and management expert committee; Dr Karen Price, the college's Victorian faculty deputy chair; and GPs with an interest in ehealth, Dr Trina Gregory, Dr Nathan Pinskier and Dr Oliver Frank.

There is a lot more here:

https://www.ausdoc.com.au/news/unacceptable-risks-gps-raise-concerns-over-tomorrows-major-pip-revamp

There is also RACGP commentary here:

GPs urged to show caution when joining PIP QI

The Federal Government program will inject $200 million into primary care, but what do practice owners need to be aware of before signing up?

Matt Woodley

02 Aug 2019

The Practice Incentive Program Quality Improvement (PIP QI) Incentive requires accredited general practices to share de-identified, aggregated data with local Primary Health Networks (PHNs) and participate in quality improvement activities.

In return, practices will receive financial remuneration, as well as information to help review and improve performance. It has also been designed to allow GPs to have a greater role in managing the health of their whole practice population.

Recently released guidelines finalised many details surrounding eligibility requirements and data sharing expectations for the twice-delayed program, but GPs and practices are still being urged to fully consider the arrangements before signing up.

In particular, Dr Rob Hosking, Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee – Practice Technology and Management (REC–PTM), told newsGP practice owners need to ensure appropriate data governance and risk management is followed.

‘The current model of data going to the PHN is more than is required for the PIP QI and yet some GPs are being told they have to provide all of it to receive the incentive, which is not correct,’ he said.

‘Under the rules of the PIP QI, GPs only have to provide 10 data elements. To complicate things further, issues remain with some of the main extraction tools, which seem to be unable to extract the 10 data elements only.

‘If in doubt, it’s probably best to wait at this point in time. We have until at least mid-October to sign up and provide data.’

……

More information on PIP QI can be found here. GPs with concerns around individual contracts or data collection arrangements are advised to contact their local PHN.

Here is the link:

https://www1.racgp.org.au/newsgp/professional/gps-urged-to-show-caution-when-joining-pip-qi 

Now those that are worried are not rabble rousing hot heads by any means and if they are jointly and severally concerned then they need to be listened to.

It is by no means clear to me just what patient information is going where and a clear graphic would surely help in this regard.

Despite the large amount of money on offer I reckon this is a time to hasten slowly and let others make the mistakes, and bear the consequences.

David.