Consultation and design process to streamline and expand the Rural Procedural Grants Program and the Practice Incentives Program Procedural GP payment

A consultation and design process to streamline and expand the Rural Procedural Grants Program (RPGP) and the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Procedural GP payment, Department of Health

As part of the 2021–22 Budget, the Government announced a consultation and design process would be undertaken to explore options to streamline the RPGP and the PIP Procedural GP payments programs. The current programs provide financial assistance for eligible rural GPs and locums through two different mechanisms:

• The RPGP offers practitioner-based support of continuing professional development (CPD) activities for GPs providing procedural (obstetrics, anaesthetics, surgery) or hospital-based emergency services, and
• The PIP Procedural GP payment gives practice-based support on a per procedural GP basis, with payment levels tiered according to service levels and rurality (geographic location of the practice).

A new program will have a broader scope that seeks to support rural generalist GPs to expand the recognition and maintenance of their range of advanced skills (AS), including greater recognition of non-procedural ASs. It is envisioned that a streamlined and expanded program would better align with the National Rural Generalist Pathway.

The Australian Government Department of Health (the Department) engaged HMA in collaboration with KBC Australia to undertake a consultation and design process to streamline and expand the Rural Procedural Grants Program (RPGP) and the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Procedural GP Payment. The project aimed to inform the Department on how to incorporate the objectives of the existing programs and combine the most efficient and effective features into a single administrative model, which will account for service delivery, skills and community need, while also expanding the scope of the existing programs. Key tasks included:

• desktop analysis of existing program documentation, and data
• consultation with peak and professional bodies through feedback on two discussion papers and interviews with a small sample of GPs
• discussions with relevant internal stakeholders within the Department from Health Workforce and Primary Care Divisions
• extensive dialogue with staff from the two colleges contracted to administer the RPGP – Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

The project deliverables included the development, analysis and costing of options for streamlining and expanding the RPGP and PIP programs.

This project commenced in August 2021 and was completed in June 2022.