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PIP QI

On 1 August 2019, the Department launched the Practice Incentive Payment Quality Improvement Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) Incentive payment for General practices who actively share a defined data set with their PHN and participate in data quality improvement activities.

Generally, most data extraction software available on the market today extracts more data sets than are required for a practice to receive the Medicare payment. PHNs usually wish to enter into data sharing arrangements with practices to extract as much data as possible. However, some Practices prefer to only share the PIP QI data set.

The PHN Exchange and its GP Data Report automates the recording and much of the reporting required by the Department.

For more information see the information brochure available on Murray PHN’s website:
https://www.murrayphn.org.au/generalpractice/practice-incentives-program/

Quality improvement

For more information please refer to the Brisbane South PHN Guide:
https://bsphn.org.au/primary-care-support/general-practice-quality-improvement/

PIP QI measures

The minimum data set a PHN must receive from a practice to comply with PIP QI requirements:

  1. Proportion of patients with diabetes with a current HbA1c result
  2. Proportion of patients with a smoking status recorded
  3. Proportion of patients with a weight classification
  4. Proportion of patients aged 65 and over who were immunised against influenza
  5. Proportion of patients with diabetes who were immunised against influenza
  6. Proportion of patients with an alcohol status
  7. Proportion of patients with the necessary risk factors assessed to enable CVD assessment
  8. Proportion of female patients with an up to date cervical screening
  9. Proportion of patients with diabetes with a blood pressure result

PIP QI reporting

The data each PHN reports on a quraterly basis to the Department includes:

  1. Particular PHN code (xxx)
  2. Date report to the department is generated
  3. Number of practices
  4. Practice PI QI identification / registration number
  5. Practice name
  6. Practice address
  7. Date of upload of data from each practice

The GP Data Report includes the PIP QI measures and will visualise any data extracted.

For review a brief video of the PIP QI section of the GP data report:
https://youtu.be/mFniG-cJ_CU (1min 6 secs)

De-identification

The extent of de-identification of data and the point at which this occurs in the data reporting process;

  1. The automatic extraction software (for example PenCS or Outcome Health) will not extract any data set from a practice where there are fewer than five records for any statistical area.
  2. For the PenCS PIP QI software, all data is extracted to the PHN database and then all except the PIP QI measures are deleted by the software.
  3. Practices who do not agree with this process have a portal to which they can manually upload data to the PHN. For Polar I believe only the PIP QI measures are extracted and sent to the Polar data warehouse in Melbourne (data remains under the custodianship of the PHN).

Reports to the Department from any PHN do not involve any patient data, de-identified or otherwise.

Relationships

The two predominant extraction tools are Outcome Health’s POLAR and PenCS’ SHEDULER AND PATCAT / PAT BI. The relationship between the PHN and the Practice is the key to an agreed use of these products.

The staff member (Business Partner) is the key contact with the Practice. After agreement between the Practice and the PHN, the vendor is requested to install the appropriate software at the Practice. The automatic upload of data, including its success rate, is monitored by the Business Partner and remedial actions are coordinated by the Business Partner when issues occur.

Manual submission

Please contact the PHN Exchange Helpdesk for the option of direct submission of the PIP QI dataset by General Practices to PHNs.