In Practice: Safe medication management and updates for GPs
18 Sep 2025
A new national framework aims to improve safety when patients move between care settings. The Medication Management at Transitions of Care Stewardship Framework, released by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC), provides guidance for healthcare professionals in acute, primary, and aged care.
The framework focuses on reducing medication-related harm during care transitions by improving communication between hospitals, primary care, and aged care providers. Its four key elements are:
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Governing committee
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Multidisciplinary stewardship team
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Medication management activities
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Monitoring, evaluation and reporting
Clinicians are encouraged to download the framework and overview to see how it can be applied locally to optimise medication management.
Source: Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Medication Management at Transitions of Care Stewardship Framework, 2025. Link
National Autism Strategy – GPs invited to provide feedback
GPs are invited to take part in a survey on autism screening, assessment, and referral processes, conducted by Amaze and Healthcare Management Advisors for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.
The findings will inform the National Autism Strategy 2025–31 and the First Action Plan 2025–26, helping to strengthen GP training and resources and improve the autism identification and diagnosis pathway for patients and families. The survey takes about 20 minutes to complete.
Source: Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, National Autism Strategy Consultation 2025. Link
Draft Standards for general practices – feedback still open
The 6th edition draft Standards for general practices is open for public consultation until 28 September. The updated Standards provide an outcome-focused framework supporting safe, high-quality care across all practice types and sizes.
Key updates include:
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Environmental sustainability
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Safe adoption of digital technologies and AI
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Stronger privacy protections
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Antimicrobial stewardship
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Enhanced continuous quality improvement
GPs and other stakeholders can access the draft and provide feedback via the RACGP website.
Source: RACGP, Draft Standards for General Practices (6th Edition), 2025. Link
Updated sexual and reproductive health MBS guide
The Centre for Excellence in Rural Sexual Health has updated its Sexual and Reproductive Health MBS Guide, including the new menopause health assessment items introduced on 1 July 2025.
The guide provides a practical reference to support GPs in delivering sexual and reproductive healthcare and ensures accurate MBS billing. The updated guide is available for download and will continue to be revised as further updates are released.
Source: Centre for Excellence in Rural Sexual Health, Sexual and Reproductive Health MBS Guide, 2025.
