Medicare Locals - Criteria for applicants
Given the apparent failure (again) of the Macarthur - Southern Highlands consortium to gain selection in the second tranche of the successful Medicare Locals announced this week, it is perhaps timely to reproduce here the DoHA selection criteria which the consortium needs to consider for the third tranche to be notified. I suggest to the Boards of the SWSGP Link and the SHDGP that they should consider in particular Criterion 2; and Criterion 4 - 6.
At present, there are clearly significant gaps in the consultation process with key stakeholders and groups that the consortium has been required to have in the development phase of their application. Perhaps they should take a serious look at the way in which the Bankstown GP Division progressed their community consultation process
The relevant consortium Boards need to beat their collective breasts and admit their failure and then, start again!
2.4 Selection Criteria
There are six (6) selection criteria against which applications for Medicare Local funding will be assessed. These criteria are outlined below:
Criterion 1:
Demonstrated expertise and capacity to address the five Strategic Objectives for Medicare Locals specified above, for the selected catchment area including outlining:
i. Activities currently undertaken and previous achievements which relate to each of the five strategic objectives;
ii. How these activities can be extended and expanded to meet the needs of a modern primary health care system;
iii. Demonstrated knowledge of the population base, health service architecture and infrastructure, utilisation and other demographic characteristics and health priorities in the proposed catchment area (this should indicate the evidence from which this knowledge is drawn);
iv. A strategy for development of a population and health service plan to address need;
v. Infrastructure already in place;
vi. Capacity to collect and manage data as appropriate;
vii. Strategies for ensuring appropriate accountability and transparency to the community; and
viii. Indicative personnel and other resources to be allocated to deliver these activities.
AND
Criterion 2:
Proposed governance and operational arrangements, including:
i. Details of the proposed legal/corporate and organisational structures;
ii. Experience and skills expertise of the proposed Executive;
iii. A structure that recognises the diversity of clinicians, services and health care recipients within the modern primary health care sector;
iv. Structures that encourage and maintain local engagement and responsiveness;
v. A transition plan, including estimates of costs associated with transition activities;
vi. Strategy for ensuring appropriate clinical governance;
vii. Strategy, skills and expertise to manage flexible funding to target services to the local community’s specific needs;
viii. Strategy for establishing effective linkages with other sectors and organisations, including Local Hospital Networks; and
ix. Strategy for ensuring community engagement and accountability.
The assessment panel will have regard for the desired governance attributes, including broad community and health professional representation, as well as business management expertise; and strong clinical leadership.
AND
Criterion 3:
The financial viability of the Medicare Local including:
i. Demonstrated record in efficient and effective use of funds of each organisation covered by the proposal;
ii. The experience and expertise of the organisation’s proposed executive team to manage substantial public funds appropriately; and
iii. Current contractual arrangements.
AND
Criterion 4:
Demonstrated evidence of ability to engage with and form productive relationships with key stakeholders, providing supporting evidence of any current partnerships and operational arrangements, and strategies to improve engagement with:
i. Community Organisations;
ii. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Organisations;
iii. Workforce Organisations;
iv. General practice;
v. The broader primary health care sector; and
vi. Research Organisations.
AND
Criterion 5:
Strategies and ability to respond to local needs and emerging priorities, including Commonwealth priorities in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, eHealth and telehealth, mental primary health care, aged care, population health and after hours primary health care.
AND
Criterion 6:
Evidence of ability to build upon a sustained track record of high performance as a Division/s of General Practice or primary health care related organisation, including:
i. Driving improved outcomes and system change in general practice and primary health care through effective practice support;
ii. Improving eHealth and information management infrastructure, including the use of data to improve preventive health and chronic disease management in clinical practice, to measure the effectiveness of health program delivery, and to inform population–based services planning and evaluation;
iii. Effective governance and corporate management;
iv. Demonstrating effective collaborative relationships with other agencies and health service providers to achieved improved referral pathways, health service provision and/ or outcomes, including a demonstrated culture of inclusion across the spectrum of primary health care service provision and local community engagement;
v. Demonstrating compliance with contractual obligations;
vi. Delivering sustained achievement and improvement against national performance indicators for Divisions of General Practice (where relevant) and associated programs; and
vii. Actively sharing expertise and resources with others to promote quality improvement and knowledge transfer across the primary health care sector.
The selection panel will develop a relative merit list from the applications assessed, based on the selection criteria above, and provide recommendations of preferred applicants to the Minister for Health and Ageing.
The selection panel will also have regard to the desirability of achieving a reasonable spread of Medicare Locals across the country and geographic classifications for the first tranche of Medicare Locals.
All applicants should note that, where the assessment process does not identify a preferred applicant within a Medicare Local region, the Department reserves the right to broker an arrangement between funding applicants and/or other interested parties.
Parker and a "hypothetical" by Dr Grice. The photos explain... 
