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New RACGP-endorsed resources
Guidelines covering breast cancer diagnosis and care, as well as otitis media have been added to help ensure GPs undertake best practice.
RACGP-approved resources are regarded as a distinguished mark of approval by the Australian health professional community.
Each year, the RACGP approves and endorses a range of clinical resources and guidelines that are produced to National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) guidelines standard.
Reviews of the external resources are undertaken by GP members of the RACGP Expert Committee – Quality Care, or by GPs appointed by the committee.
Approved resources are regarded as a distinguished mark of approval by the Australian health professional community.
RACGP endorsement is only provided for clinical guidelines that are produced to NHMRC standard.
When a clinical resource is not produced to NHMRC standard, but is still produced to a high standard for use in general practice, the RACGP provides an ‘Accepted clinical resource’ status.
A document that is not a guideline or an RACGP Accepted clinical resource may be approved as an RACGP ‘Supported position/statement’ if it meets the college’s criteria.
The latest RACGP-approved and endorsed resources are detailed below.
Otitis media guidelines
Approved as an RACGP Endorsed clinical guideline.
These guidelines provide best-practice recommendations for the diagnosis and management of otitis media in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
With rates of ear disease among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children declared a ‘public health emergency’, the guidelines aim to guide prevention of the life-long impacts that undetected otitis media and hearing loss have on these high-risk children.
Developed by Menzies Health, the guidelines follow the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) approach.
Shared Care Plan: Early breast cancer follow-up care
Approved as an RACGP Accepted clinical resource.
Cancer Australia’s Shared Care Plan is a template for coordinated care by GPs and other care providers to ensure ongoing comprehensive follow-up care and survivorship care for patients who have received treatment for early breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
The individualised care plan also supports communication between the GP and specialist, and their respective teams, about the patient’s care.
Other key components of the Shared Care Plan include:
- a summary of the patient’s diagnosis, history and treatment to determine eligibility for shared care
- a shared follow-up appointments summary, including timing (date) and healthcare provider (specialist or GP)
- a list of actions to be undertaken during follow-up appointments.
The plan is accompanied by
Information for health professionals.
Investigation of a new breast symptom: A guide for general practitioners
Approved as an RACGP Accepted clinical resource.
An update of the 2017 edition, this resource outlines steps to be taken in investigating symptoms that could be breast cancer, information about the triple test approach to diagnosis and guidance for referral.
The guide has been developed to ‘maximise the effectiveness of investigation’ of women who present to their GP with a new breast symptom. The development of the guide was informed by a review of the evidence together with expert consensus opinion.
All approved and endorsed clinical resources can be searched by topic on the RACGP website.
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