As COVID becomes endemic, a new campaign has been developed by WA Primary Health Alliance to help relieve pressure on GPs and practice staff with a range of online resources to support patients in managing their health more effectively.
See Your GP – Keep your Health on Track provides videos, social media content and other materials for practices to download and share on topics such as what to expect when coming to the practice, telehealth, e-prescriptions and influenza vaccinations.
The campaign was informed by the WA GP Advisory Panel run by WA Primary Health Alliance in partnership with RACGP WA and Rural Health West, with the key understanding that patients need to understand and navigate changes to the way primary health care is being delivered.
General Manager Strategy and Engagement, Chris Kane, explained that the advent of the COVID pandemic has seen a significant shift in the way many GPs provide treatment and how patients experience that service.
“We believe that much like changes that have become embedded in many other aspects of our lives, the way you get care from your GP is different and will most likely never return to exactly the same pre pandemic model,” Mrs Kane said.
“Many general practices have embraced different operating models appropriate for the current circumstances, including drive through vaccination clinics, phone triaging, setting up patient flows for patients with respiratory symptoms, and, of course, telehealth and e-prescribing.
“The ways in which general practices provide care will always be responsive to the changing needs of their patients, and consumer expectations have also changed, having experienced telehealth e-prescribing.
“Research we commissioned from Connect Groups in 2020 on the experiences and attitudes of people with a chronic condition, demonstrated consumers’ overall positive experiences engaging with [them].”
WA Primary Health Alliance have prepared several social media campaigns for practices to use over the past two years of the pandemic and have been encouraged by their uptake – which indicates practices are seeing the benefit of communicating more directly with their patients.
“General practices vary in the way they manage their on-line presence – with some very patient friendly and innovative websites in place,” Mrs Kane said.
“Practices understand how their patients prefer to receive and interpret information and can adapt these campaigns to their own context.”
WA Primary Health Alliance CEO Learne Durrington said that as we learn to live with COVID, it is critical that people continue to see their GP for ongoing care for chronic and other conditions, as well as screening and immunisations.
“They need to feel comfortable that their health care needs can still be met in a safe and effective way,” Ms Durrington said.
“Additionally, as we move into our first winter where we are living with COVID in the community, it is more important than ever to remind patients of the importance of having their influenza vaccination.”
The campaign presently includes several social media posts with suggested messaging on flu vaccinations, including the increased risk of a significant flu season this year and the ability to have influenza and COVID vaccinations concurrently.
The resources can be played on practice waiting room screens, as well as on websites and social media, and customisable resources such as patient factsheets, on hold messages, and website copy are also available.
Furthermore, quality improvement coaches are available to help practices undertake additional activities to promote the uptake of influenza vaccine, particularly for people who are at higher risk of serious illness.
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