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Rapidly changing evidence sparks need for ‘living’ guidelines
The RACGP has requested Federal Government support to establish clinical resources that incorporate new information as it comes to hand.
Living guidelines would help GPs and other clinicians access the most up to date information.
More investment in ‘living’ guidelines to support preventive care is needed to improve health outcomes, according to the RACGP.
The funding call, included in the college’s pre-Budget submission 2024–25, says a $330,000 annual contribution over the next three years would be enough to help establish the resources and encourage implementation, with college President Dr Nicole Higgins arguing it would be money well spent.
‘The leading causes of death and disability in Australia are preventable or can be delayed with early intervention through general practice,’ she said.
‘Funding preventive care is the most cost-effective health investment. The Productivity Commission estimated that improving the health of people in poor or fair health would result in an extra $4 billion GDP growth annually in 2017 – it’s likely a lot more now, given the increasing burden of chronic disease in Australia.
‘[But] for too long, Australian governments have underinvested in preventive care. Currently, just 2% of our total health spending goes to prevention [whereas] the National Preventive Health Strategy calls for it to increase to 5% by 2030.’
Alongside preventive healthcare, last week’s newsGP poll showed COVID-19 is still a source of consternation, with nearly one in four respondents saying they find it the most difficult area of medicine to stay up to date with.
But while they were supported by a national clinical evidence taskforce that provided regular and frequent guideline updates for the first three years of the pandemic, funding was pulled at the end of 2022, leaving many GPs searching for answers on their own.
‘Health research and evidence changes so rapidly that guidelines quickly become outdated, and GPs need to spend a lot of time looking at new research to keep up to date,’ Dr Higgins said.
‘Funding for GP-led living guidelines will mean Australians can get the latest evidence-based care – this will make Australia healthier and reduce costs to the health system.
‘I strongly encourage the Government to make this investment in RACGP guidelines in the next Budget. It will help all Australians get the latest evidence-based care, improve our health, and reduce pressure on our hospitals.’
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