STRENGTHENING EVIDENCE THROUGH HEALTH RESEARCH WHERE MOST PEOPLE ACCESS HEALTHCARE, RACGP joins consortium and calls for practice-based research network in primary health
With
Dr Michael Wright GP, President
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) &
Associate Professor,
International Centre for Future Health Systems (ICFHS)
Australian Health Journal segment
Filmed in Sydney | March 2025
In February 2025, the Australian Government committed over $22 million for primary care research, including $5.2m awarded to Professor Michael Kidd, Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems at UNSW and recently appointed Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, to lead the establishment of one of the largest research collaborations in Australia focused on improving primary care.
The Royal Australian College of GPs says a new national multidisciplinary consortium for primary care research is a positive step forward to improve patient care.
The RACGP is a member of the National Multidisciplinary Primary Care Research, Policy and Advocacy Consortium, which involves 100 primary care researchers from 20 universities from across the country.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said: “Every year more than 22 million Australians see a specialist GP for their essential health care, making general practice is the most accessed part of our health system.
“Yet research in general practice is vastly underrepresented and underfunded. General practice receives less than 2% of our national medical research funding.
“This new consortium is an important and exciting opportunity to design, test and innovate models of care to better meet the needs of patients across Australia, and I’m proud the RACGP is a member.
“The RACGP is calling for all political parties to commit to funding a national practice-based research network, like they have in Canada and the United Kingdom.
“These networks have proven to be immensely valuable overseas.
“We’re also calling for funding to test how multidisciplinary practice teams work at full scope in Australia, in order to improve access to care for patients.
“We know people get the best outcomes when their GP works together with their other specialists, and health professionals, and it’s especially valuable for people with chronic and complex illnesses.
Source: Highlights from RACGP media release
-
Alfred Hospital leading in pharmacy services for critically unwell patients
Cristina Roman, is the Lead Pharmacist at Alfred Emergency Trauma Centre. In her 12 years working in the Emergency Department, Cristina has established pharmacy services, and filled gaps in patient care with new models of care.
One of those models of care adopted by the US and other countries, is involving pharmacists for critically unwell patients that present to the emergency department.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Cristina Roman and Lisa Bremner, Advanced Training Resident Pharmacist at Alfred Hospital Emergency Trauma Centre.
-
Allied health flourishes in regional and rural Victoria
Associate Professor Sanjay Jeganathan, Chair of the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC) states, ”Our rural and regional communities deserve the same access to specialist care as our cities. We’re seeing real results from our colleges’ commitment to rural training.”
-
Surgeon-scientist path laid for medical device research
In 2022, Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace AO and Professor Mukherjee jointly established Beyond Science as a clinician led, academically supported and clinician run Australian-first medical technology translation program.
The program is aimed at early career researchers and clinician-scientists working in medical device research specifically in otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), head and neck surgery.
