PIP QI data points to improvements in chronic disease care

A new snapshot of general practices has been released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), providing an insight into the collective work of clinics around the country.
 
The 2026 report, published on Wednesday, reveals the latest findings from the Federal Government’s Practice Incentives Program Quality Improvement (PIP QI) Incentive.
 
This offers quarterly payments to general practices which take part in continuous quality improvement with their Primary Health Network (PHN), with the aim being nationally consistent data that can help improve patient outcomes.
 
So, what does this year’s update tell us? While the value of the data has been queried before, it does provide some details of note.
 
Firstly, most practices take part. The AIHW says 6244 practices submitted PIP QI data for this latest report. Taking into account technical and data quality issues, the final figures included in the report are drawn from 5882 general practices around the country.
 
HbA1c results recorded for patients with diabetes
Over the past three years, results for this, which reports whether patients with diabetes who have had an HbA1c result recorded in the last 12 months on their GP record, have increased incrementally.
 
They are up 2.4 percentage points for Type 1 diabetes (now at 60%); up 3.3 percentage points for Type 2 diabetes (now 74.9%) and 5.8 percentage points for undefined diabetes increased (now 70.5%).
 
Smoking
As of July 2026 69.7% of patients aged over 15 years had their smoking status recorded in the past 12 months, with the rate varying across PHNs from 64% to 82.3%.
 
The statistics suggest a small fall in regular smokers, down from 13.5% in 2023 to 12.4% this year.
 
Weight and height recordings
In the past three years, the number of patients aged 15 and over who had a height and weight recorded at their GP in the past year rose by 5.6 percentage points to 28.6%.
 
Influenza immunisation status
Across three categories, figures have dipped in recent years, with a status recorded in the past year for 53% of patients aged 65 and older, 46.1% for those with diabetes, and 55.1% for those with a COPD status.
 
Alcohol consumption status
The latest report shows a seven-percentage point increase from July 2023 to July 2026 in alcohol consumption status being recorded in patients’ general practice records over the past year (now at 66.4%).
 
CVD risk assessment
There were 61.1% of regular patients aged 45–74 years without a CVD diagnosis who had necessary risk factors recorded in their general practice record to allow for CVD risk assessment. This has risen 8.5 percentage points since 2023 to its current setting.
 
Cervical screening test
The proportion of regular female patients aged 25–74 years who had a cervical screening test recorded in the past five years increased by 353,925, a rise of 8.9 percentage points to 46.4%.
 
Diabetes and blood pressure
There has been little recent change in the proportion of those with diabetes who have had blood pressure recorded by general practices within the past six months. In 2023 it stood at 56.9%, this year it stood at 58.7%.
 
On a medical software note, the AIHW shows Best Practice as by far the most commonly used among the clinics taking part in PIP QI (75.9%), followed by MedicalDirector (21.3%), with other providers accounting for the remaining 2.8%.
 
There is also some significant variation across PHNs in the results of the 10 quality improvement measures. While most showed an increase in data collected by general practices, some categories are notable exceptions, including for the recording of influenza immunisation status.
 
The PIP QI program started in August 2019, with the first data published in 2021. In the May 2026 budget, the Government announced it would spend $119.3 million to extend the incentive program for a further two years until 2028.
 
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AIHW Australian Institute of Health and Welfare PIP QI Practice Incentives Program Quality Improvement Incentive