Earning CPD points through patient surveys

Now that HosPortal has launched its patient survey tool, called Connect, we thought we would remind people of the ability to use surveys to earn continuing professional development (CPD) points for ongoing doctor accreditation.Below are a few examples of how Connect could assist in re-accreditation and ongoing professional development.

ANZCA CPD requirements

For anaesthetists, the activities eligible for ANZCA CPD points are listed here. Each fellow is required to earn 180 CPD points per triennium:

• Each patient experience survey accounts for 20 CPD points.
• A survey can be conducted twice in each triennium, for a total of 40 CPD points, equivalent to over one-fifth of the total.
• Only 15 responses are required to gain the CPD credit

RACS CPD requirements

For surgeons, the RACS CPD requirements are listed here. The 2017-18 guide describes the requirements to include:

• A requirement to undertake an annual Reflective Practice, as the fourth category of CPD requirements
• Reflective Practice can include a Patient Feedback Survey including an action plan.

RACP CPD requirements

For physicians, the RACP CPD requirements are listed here. Each Fellow of the college is required to earn 100 CPD points in each calendar year. All of the credits are based on hours:

• Patient satisfaction studies earn 3 credits per hour, the highest rate.
• a practice review and other improvement activities also earn 3 credits per hour.

For both RACS and RACP, Connect can be used to gather data on patient satisfaction and collect clinical data to allow practice review. Because it is so efficient at gathering the data, CPD hours can be spent on the valuable task of reviewing and acting on the data, rather than just collecting it.