Overview
General Practice Accreditation
General practice accreditation is voluntary in Australia and is designed to support systems to improve the quality of care for patients attending accredited general practices.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has developed the Standards for general practices (5th edition) (the Standards) with the purpose of protecting patients from harm by improving the quality and safety of health services. The Standards also support general practices in identifying and addressing any gaps in their systems and processes.
The National General Practice Accreditation (NGPA) Scheme
The Commission in collaboration with the RACGP developed the NGPA Scheme, which commenced on 1 January 2017. The NGPA Scheme supports the accreditation of Australian general practices to the RACGP Standards for general practices and the RACGP Standards for point-of-care testing (as of November 2021).
Our Approach
Global-Mark was founded in early 2004, and specialises in the delivery of various forms of accreditation and certification and have been involved in General Practice Accreditation since 2020.
When you engage with Global-Mark, your practice will be assigned a dedicated Program Manager to assist you in your accreditation journey and will be your contact throughout the entire process.
We have an extensive team of specialists to support our clients. Each member of our team is selected for their competence and knowledge but also their interpersonal skills, as we believe a very large proportion of our work is about effectively communicating and working with people. Our team of staff and technical experts have experience assessing general practice/s across Australia.
Our Accreditation Process
Our Global-Mark Program Manager will contact you to gain a good understanding of your practice and your accreditation requirements. The Program Manager will also provide you with all the information you need regarding accreditation, Global-Mark’s processes, the fee structure and what will be required from your organisation. Once your Program Manager understands your requirements, they will provide you with a fee proposal detailing fees and costs. This is a free service and carries no obligation to proceed with accreditation.
Once you have reviewed and accepted the fee proposal and wish to commit to the Global-Mark accreditation process, an approved signatory from your practice should complete, sign and return a Client Agreement Form. The form is a formal contract between your organisation and Global-Mark Pty Ltd, and outlines your acceptance of the accreditation process, the rules governing accreditation and related accreditation marks, appeals and contractual terms and conditions.
Completing a self-assessment is required so that a general practice can determine their level of compliance with the standards and provides your surveyor team with initial information on your practice.
General practices should commence coordination of the assessment processes 12 to 18 months from their accreditation expiry date. The on-site assessment should be undertaken at least four months and no more than eight months prior to the practice’s accreditation expiry date.
The Survey Visit is carried out to determine whether systems and processes complies with the RACGP Standards for general practices.
At the completion of the Survey visit your Lead Surveyor will conduct a closing meeting where they will present the findings of the visit. You will then receive a Preliminary report that will detail any areas that have not been met at your initial survey visit.
If there are no ‘not-mets’ your survey team will recommend accreditation. The recommendation is then internally assessed and if approved, Global-Mark will inform you in writing that you have been successful and issue your Certificate of Accreditation.
Where relevant indicators assessed have been rated ‘not met’ the general practice will be given 65 business days to implement changes to demonstrate they have met the requirements of the specified indicators.
Global-Mark surveyors will conduct a final assessment, to determine if indicators rated ‘not met’ have been remediated. The accrediting agency will determine whether the general practice has satisfied the requirements of the assessment. The general practice will be awarded accreditation if all relevant indicators in the RACGP Standards for general practices have been met.
Join our Surveyor Team
We invite you to contribute your passion for safe and high-quality general practice by becoming a contracted surveyor with Global-Mark.
As a Surveyor, you will demonstrate your leadership for quality general practice by sharing professional knowledge and insights with peers. Surveyors benefit from exposure to a range of different systems and ideas, enabling them to continuously improve their own practices.
Surveyors work in teams consisting of a general practitioner as lead surveyor and a co-surveyor, which can be a practice manager, practice nurse, allied health professional or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health worker.
We are seeking expressions of interest from experienced and passionate general practitioners and practice staff.
