Keith Saggers, the practice manager of a busy general practice in South Australia, found preparing for Accreditation against RACGP’s Standards for General Practices 5th Edition quite daunting.
As a lot of preparation is needed prior to any survey visit day, Keith felt the time he had allotted probably wasn’t enough. Once he grew more familiar with what was involved, he found the entire process challenging.
“It was such a big job, and I just couldn’t work out how to start… as all the information was in my computer,” Keith explains.
That was a problem, because there was no easy way to view the entire scope of the project or to determine the best way to allocate tasks.
Like many general practices, Keith’s accreditation-related information was in an accreditation folder with numerous files, layers deep within the practice network. There was no single comprehensive source of information making everything visible to the entire staff at all times.
Introducing 5th map
After Keith’s practice received its RACGP certification, he designed the resource he had been unable to find, 5th map—a large infographic summarising the 184 pages of RACGP’s Modules, Standards, Criterions and Indicators—so practices can see at a glance what specifically needs to be done.
5th map is an RACGP accepted resource, created by a practice manager for practice managers.
Above: 5th map
Above: 5th map checklist
With 5th map, the entire practice can view a concise summary of all Modules, Standards, Criterions and Indicators in context. Plus, 5th map comes with a bonus checklists infographic displaying these requirements.
To simplify the way information is presented on 5th map, the infographic is colour-coded, so the general practice team can see at a glance whether they’re viewing Standards, Criterions and Indicators for Core [green], General Practice [blue] or Quality Improvement [maroon].
Keith says, “I wanted to make it so easy people would even volunteer to do tasks.”
“I wanted a resource where an owner, doctor, nurse, practice manager or receptionist could walk by and just read one line per day. That way over time everyone will have an understanding of the Standards.”
Having everything written in one place, Keith says makes it easy to allocate tasks. Not only does this simplify accreditation because it’s easy to get the whole team involved, he says, but “the collective knowledge of everyone might improve a bit too as the information is so accessible, which is good for the practice and patients.”
Perhaps the ultimate benefit of 5th map, however, is the stress it can reduce by showing a practice how to complete modules incrementally rather than all at once.
How to get 5th Map
If you’re interested in obtaining the 5th map for your general practice, it is available, framed or unframed, via: https://5thmap.com.au/buy or by emailing Keith direct at: [email protected]
Once you place your order, you’ll receive 5th map and its bonus, 5th map checklists, custom printed with your practice name.
