Revalidation Out, Professional Performance Framework In

The Medical Board of Australia has announced the introduction of a Professional Performance Framework, instead of revalidation, for Australian doctors.

What does this mean for you?

The Professional Performance Framework is designed to ensure that all registered medical practitioners in Australia practise competently and ethically throughout their working lives and provide safe care to patients.

Five Pillars of the Professional Performance Framework

1. Strengthened CPD requirements
2. Active assurance of safe practice - doctors who are providing clinical care to patients will be required to undergo peer review and health checks at age 70 and three yearly thereafter. Risks from professional isolation will also be identified and considered.
3. Strengthened assessment and management of medical practitioners with multiple substantiated complaints
4. Guidance to support practitioners
5. Collaboration to foster a positive culture in medicine.

Next Steps

1. Phase One
Over the next 12 months, the Board will:

• seek advice about formal peer review and health checks for doctors who provide clinical care from age 70 years and three yearly thereafter
• commission clinical advice on what constitutes a practical and effective health check for doctors aged 70 years and over
• work with Colleges and employers to continue to strengthen CPD programs
• urge governments to make data accessible to individual registered doctors to support performance review and outcome measurement e.g. Medicare data
• pilot formal peer review of practitioners with multiple substantiated notifications
• explore information sharing between organisations with knowledge of individual medical practitioner’s poor performance, potential risks or complaints, in the public interest
• refer to the AMC the challenge of poor professional behaviour in early career doctors
• alert Medical Deans, Universities of Australia, Colleges, post-graduate training providers and employers to the future risk to patient safety from early poor professionalism among medical students, so they can better manage this risk.

2. Phase Two
By 2020, the Board will:

• consult on a revised registration standard for CPD and the proposed new health related registration standard
• work with health sector stakeholders to consider
  
  • how to address the early identification and effective management of under-performance across the medical profession
  • responsibilities for remediation of under-performance
  • ‘large data’ sharing/accessing patient outcome data to improve safety and quality
• develop an evaluation plan for the framework.

3. Phase Three
The Board will review and evaluate the effectiveness of the elements of Professional Performance Framework.

This blog contains general information only. We recommend you contact your medical defence organisation or insurer when you require specific advice in relation to medico-legal matters.