The practice data platform now includes RACGP-approved activities to help meet the ‘measuring outcomes’ component of CPD.
GPs can now use integrated practice software tool Cubiko’s data mining capabilities for CPD, bringing structure to the ‘measuring outcomes’ component.
It’s no secret that the most maligned aspect of the already-much-maligned continuing professional development standards for doctors is the 25 hours of mandatory performance review and outcomes measuring.
The Medical Republic’s contributing GP writers have variously described it as “a bloody waste of time”, a source of “enormous resentment” and “a pointless second unpaid job”.
In the most recent Health of the Nation report, just over a third of GPs said meeting CPD requirements ranked among the main issues they faced; of the GPs who were planning to retire, around one in two said CPD compliance was a factor.
Cubiko’s new feature, which it has touted as the first tool to specifically assist with the measuring outcomes component of CPD, is a library of templated activities that count toward quality improvement goals.
The software then automatically generates a tailored list of patients relevant to the task.
Once an activity is selected, Cubiko prompts users to create an action plan using its auto-generated list of relevant patients, complete those actions and measure the outcomes.
Cubiko co-founder Chris Smeed told The Medical Republic that the new feature came after multiple requests from customers to make CPD more engaging.
“I’ve just always thought that there has to be a way that data can help make this an easier and more sustainable [activity],” he said.
From the template library screen, doctors will be able to see how many patients might be eligible for a certain intervention and how many CPD hours this may translate to.
“One of the things I’m excited about is matching and measuring outcome activities to [see] where it will have the most impact on patients,” Mr Smeed said.
“We can do activities in areas that move the needle the most – but, once again, we totally respect the clinical autonomy of a practitioner to choose what they want to do.”
Once an activity is completed, it will automatically upload to the clinician’s RACGP CPD home.
GPs with other CPD homes can download a certificate of completion and manually log it with their chosen home.
There are four activities currently available: diabetes patients who haven’t had the flu vaccine, diabetes patients who haven’t had a recent blood pressure reading, chronic disease management plans in need of review and health assessments for older Australians.
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These also happen to align with broader goals commonly set by Primary Health Networks as part of the PIP-QI program.
“Coming from a practice background … sometimes GPs could be working on 75-years plus health assessments, but the practice nurses are also working on that and the practice reception team are all also working on that,” Mr Smeed said.
“And that becomes part of a practice quality improvement, which they have to do for accreditation and PIP-QI and a number of other reasons.
“By starting with these activities, which align either with the PIP-QI metrics or metrics that we know our customers use a lot in Cubiko, we really wanted to deliver double bang for buck for the practice.”
More modules that will be added over the next few months include recording patient smoking and alcohol status, recording patient ethnicity and heart health checks.
My CPD Outcomes is located in the My Cubiko dashboard in Best Practice and MedicalDirector Pracsoft for clinicians working in a practice with a Cubiko subscription.
Cubiko is also available for practices using ZedMed, with MyCubiko and My CPD Outcomes coming to ZedMed in the near future.
While Cubiko subscriptions are practice-wide, each individual clinician can only access their own data via the dashboard.
