Optimising the General Practice response to COVID-19 challenges

COVID-19 – utilising near real-time electronic General Practice data to establish effective care and best-practice policy

This project is funded by: Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre

Since its identification in December 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and its associated coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a devastating effect on communities around the world. Health systems have been forced to make rapid choices about how to prioritise care, manage infection control and maintain reserve capacity for future disease outbreaks. The interruption of normal patterns of health care and the suspension of services has meant that the pandemic has also had a major impact on the detection and treatment of many non-COVID-19 conditions. Electronic general practice data are a valuable resource which can be used to inform population and individual care decision-making.

This project is based on a collaborative relationship involving the Digital Health Cooperative Research Centre, Macquarie University, Outcome Health, Gippsland, Eastern Melbourne and South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Networks (PHNs), and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Quality Assurance Programs, with participation from Central and Eastern Sydney and South Western Sydney PHNs. It will use an innovative secure and comprehensive digital health platform, Population Level Analysis & Reporting (POLAR) to:

Generate near real-time reports to identify emerging trends related to COVID-19, its diagnosis, treatment and medications prescribed, and its impact on patients.
Monitor the impact of interventions/policy decisions.

COVID-19 General Practice Snapshots and Impact Measures Report

Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on general practice

This document presents an overview of the collaborative project COVID-19 – utilising near real-time electronic Australian general practice data to establish effective care and best-practice policy, including a summary of the Snapshot series which informed the development of a suite of ten impact measures.

Monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on general practice: a suite of impact measures for Australian general practice.

COVID-19 General Practice Snapshots:

COVID-19 GP Snapshot 1 - Telehealth: The uptake of GP telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 GP Snapshot 2 - Telehealth: Socioeconomic and demographic comparisons in the uptake of telehealth services during COVID-19

COVID-19 GP Snapshot 3 - Pathology: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on pathology testing in general practice

COVID-19 GP Snapshot 4 - RACFs: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on general practice consultations in residential aged care facilities

COVID-19 GP Snapshot 5 - Diabetes: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on general practice-based HbA1c monitoring in type 2 diabetes

COVID-19 GP Snapshot 6 - Prescribing: Changes in medication prescribing in general practice during the COVID-19 pandemic

COVID-19 GP Snapshot 7 - Cancer screening: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening in general practice

Project members - Macquarie University

Professor Andrew Georgiou Professor	Dr Nasir Wabe Senior Research Fellow	Dr Judith Thomas Research Fellow
Julie Li Research Assistant/PhD Candidate	Mr Gorkem Sezgin Postdoctoral Research Fellow