Grants are now available. The application deadline has been extended to 30 October!
One Good Community General Practice (OGC GP) Program recognises that general practice is the cornerstone of healthcare. At a glance:

Building an integrated system of health that considers multiple, interconnected factors across the lifespan inclusive of community, carers and consumers is critical. Digital health enables the building of a contemporary, quality health system that is outcomes-focused and values-based.
By embedding the use of digital health tools and technologies by general practice the OGC GP seeks to encourage general practice to shift models of care to impact positively on the health and wellbeing of community, carers and family who care for people living with chronic, complex health and mental health.
Digital health tools and technologies can improve quality of care through measures such as;
To support general practice, Gippsland Primary Health Network (Gippsland PHN) has developed the OGC GP program which includes:
- Digital Health Maturity Assessment
This is a great way for general practices in Gippsland to determine their level of digital maturity and support the planning of digital health improvement activities over time. You may have already completed your digital health maturity assessment with your local Regional Services Officer.
- One Good Community General Practice Grants
These are one-off grants up to $42,500 for Gippsland general practices to establish sustainable models of care that produce positive health outcomes using digital health tools and technologies.
- One Good Community General Practice Digital Health Toolbox
This includes a range of information and resources available to support general practices to better identify and understand how digital technologies can be used within practices to improve quality, safety, accessibility, transparency, efficiency and patient outcomes.

The Gippsland PHN OGC GP is guided by a set of principles:
Digital Health Maturity Assessment
Many of the practices in Gippsland have already completed the Digital Health Maturity Assessment. The Digital Health Maturity Assessment is a great way for general practices in Gippsland to determine their level of digital maturity and support the planning of digital health improvement activities over time.
The assessment explores each general practice’s cultural, process and technical readiness to support new and alternative models of care. There are three levels of digital maturity; Foundational, Intermediate and Advanced.
Contact Gippsland PHN if you haven’t already completed the Digital Health Maturity Assessment.
Grants available
Gippsland Primary Health Network (Gippsland PHN) is offering one-off grants up to $42,500 to eligible Gippsland general practices to establish sustainable models of care that produce positive health outcomes using digital health tools and technologies.
There are three levels of funding available under the OGC GP grants.
Applications must be submitted prior to 30 October 2020.
To find out if your practice is eligible and how to apply visit OGC GP resource booklet
Level 1: Foundational
$25,000
Level 2: Intermediate
$35,000
Level 3: Advanced
$42,500

OGC GP Digital Health Toolbox
There is a range of digital information and resources available to support general practices.
Follow the links below to find out more about what is on offer to support your practice.

POLAR (POpulation Level Analysis and Reporting) is an ‘in practice’ software product for General Practitioners, Practice Managers and other staff to use within their practice to support internal operations, patient-centred care, quality improvement and business development.
Find out how your practice could use POLAR to help improve patient and practitioner outcomes by visiting the Gippsland PHN POLAR GP webpage.

My Health Record provides a platform for a holistic approach, tailored advice and better care coordination. Its use supports healthcare teams in achieving a common goal, optimum health outcomes for patients especially those with chronic and complex medical conditions.
Find out more about how My Health Record can assist clinical decision-making and maintain relevant and up to date patient information by visiting the Gippsland PHN Digital My Health Record webpage.

HealthPathways Gippsland is an online portal, designed to be used by health professionals at the point of care. Each pathway is evidence-informed, reflecting local reality, and aims to preserve clinical autonomy and patient choice.
For information about how HealthPathways can support your practice Gippsland PHN HealthPathways webpage.

The Digital Health Guide provides high quality information about mobile health apps, including what capabilities they have, what conditions they are for, what evidence exists to support their claims, and reviews and ratings from health providers enabling provision of advice to patients about what solutions might be appropriate to support their care.
To better understand how the Digital Health Guide can support patient care go to the Gippsland PHN Digital Health Guide webpage.
E-prescribing
Electronic prescriptions initiative is a key priority within the National Digital Health Strategy. Electronic prescriptions enable the prescribing, dispensing and claiming of medicines, without the need for a paper prescription. It is not mandatory, allowing prescribers and patients to choose either a paper or electronic prescription.
For a range of resources to support your practice visit Electronic Prescribing webpage or email Gippsland PHN.

Healthdirect Video Call Service is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health. The platform combines the convenience and benefits of a telephone call with a face-to-face discussion using everyday smart devices (mobile phone, tablet, laptop or computer) and an internet connection.
To better understand how the Video Call Service can support patient care, go to our webpage or visit Healthdirect Video Call Service.
Secure messaging
Secure Messaging is a key priority within the National Digital Health Strategy and is a core foundational capability required to enable safe, secure, interoperable and confidential information sharing across all healthcare providers and consumers. Currently, there is a lack of a consistent approach to information exchange across the Australian health sector where it is not possible to send secure messaging from one product to another.
To understand how your practice can introduce Secure Messaging visit Secure Messaging.

A series of Train IT Medical eLearning courses hosted on a unique online Learning Management System (LMS) available to support general practices deliver high quality clinical data and quality improvement processes in general practice.
For more information about eLearning Management System email Gippsland GHP
Quality Improvement Toolkit
The Quality Improvement (QI) Toolkit is designed to help practices complete QI activities and develop systematic approaches to implementing change.
To find out more visit Practice Incentive Program and Quality Improvement Toolkit.

The Lifeguard software platform features a web portal and mobile app for health providers and a mobile app for patients, providing the infrastructure for health providers to maintain continuity of care of people isolated in their homes.
Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) of symptoms and vital signs for early indication of deterioration of condition between clinical patient encounters (due to COVID-19 and/or complex chronic conditions) can be monitored by a dedicated care team, located in a general practice. Condition-specific care pathways with defined clinical thresholds are created for patients by their General Practitioner.
By leveraging condition-specific Digital Care Pathways patients can be virtually monitored. If a patient records data outside of the defined clinical thresholds, the care team will be alerted via the platform and action can be taken including contacting the patient (or carer) via telehealth, requesting an appointment with the general practice or directing the patient to urgent care services within a hospital.
This platform will enable general practices to easily monitor any deterioration of a patient’s health status in several patient’s condition at the same time and support their prioritisation based on acuity of condition for the best use of hospital resources, acting as a funnel into the hospital system, reducing the burden of inappropriate hospitalisation.
For more information about Lifeguard remote patient monitoring email Gippsland PHN.

Digitally enabled Social Prescribing
Social prescribing offers a holistic and person-centered approach to addressing psychosocial wellbeing that is tailored to an individual’s needs. Social Prescribing provides healthcare professionals with non-medical referral options, complimentary to existing clinical treatments to improve health and wellbeing by addressing the social determinants of health.
Social prescribing works by enabling General Practitioners to link patients with social, therapeutic and practical support provided by voluntary and community support organisations in their local area.
Utilising the Kaleidoscope digital solution healthcare professionals are supported in co-designing (between health providers and patients) psychosocial care plans, with measurable goals, tangible actions (i.e. health interventions), social prescriptions and referrals to community organisations.
For more information about Social prescribing email Gippsland PHN.