Dr Paula Harding1, Ms Fiona Brennan1, Ms Loretta Kingston Brown1, Ms Bernice Mills1, Mr Andrew Noye1
1Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia
Biography:
Dr Paula Harding is the Director of Allied Health for Barwon Health and has actively led the establishment and development of advanced practice services in hospitals across the state and nationally since 2006. Paula has published and presented on numerous occasions about the outcomes of advanced practice services and worked clinically in various advanced practice roles up until recently. Paula also leads the Allied Health Scope of Practice and Credentialing role for Alfred Health.
Abstract:
Barwon Health has both well developed and emerging advanced practice models in place for allied health. The value add of allied health advanced practice in specialists’ outpatient clinics is often not well quantified or visible to the broader organization.
Evaluating and disseminating the value add of advanced practice to key stakeholders (clinical program leaders and the organization executive) was identified by the allied health leadership team as a strategic initiative to enable advanced practice models to be embedded, sustained and new models developed.
The purpose of this presentation is to present a standardized approach to model of care development and introduction of an evaluation framework that provides quarterly reports to stakeholders for Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Audiology, Dietetics and Speech Pathology advanced practice models.
Advanced practice models in place at Barwon Health now have a standardized procedure that covers a scope of practice statement, workforce competency and assessment program, service provision, risk management, governance and evaluation. Endorsement from key stakeholder is required prior to sign off by the Allied Health Credentialing Committee. All individual advanced practice allied health professionals are also credentialed using a standardized approach. Our quarterly reporting covers activity data, wait list numbers and times, attendance rates, referral rates for surgical consultations, telehealth utilization, quality and safety metrics including consumer feedback. These reports are disseminated broadly to key stakeholders.
Introducing this standardized approach and evaluation framework has improved the visibility with positive feedback received from key stakeholders. New advanced practice models are now being explored for other professions.