Practical Tips for GPs Implementing Lifescripts      

Dr Nancy Huang of Kinect Australia has developed a practical tip sheet to assist GPs who want to implement Lifescripts in their practice.  The tips are based on Dr Huangs own experience of implementing Lifescripts into a small general practice in Victoria.  Click on this link to access Dr Huang's practical tips for implementing Lifescripts. 

Participation in Lifescripts is voluntary and there are a range of options to ensure that implementation suits different practice settings. Lifestyle risk factor discussions might be implemented opportunistically when relevant to the patient consultation or practices might choose to take a systematic, whole of practice approach and integrate Lifescripts into clinical processes. A systematic approach to implementing Lifescripts involves: discussing risk factors with patients; setting lifestyle change goals; providing written lifestyle prescriptions; organising ongoing review of lifestyle risk factors; and referring patients to other services that support healthy lifestyle choices. Practices should consider how Lifescripts could fit into the work of the Practice.

The Practice Manual provides a range of options to consider when implementing Lifescripts. Opportunistic approaches can be used by GPs to issue lifestyle prescriptions when lifestyle risk factors are relevant to the patients' presenting complaint or if the patient themselves initiates a discussion on lifestyle issues. Opportunistic approaches can also involve other practice staff, for example through existing educational activities such as encouraging the diabetes educator to utilise Lifescripts material. Practice Nurses can provide patient self management education using the Lifescripts resources.  The Practice Manager and reception staff can be involved by making the patient flyers and waiting room checklists available.

Systematic approaches to implementing Lifescripts can also involve either GPs only or GPs and other Practice Staff.  Lifescripts can be integrated into consultations for medicare item numbers such as the new CDM items and the ATSI Adult Health Check item. Practice staff could organise recall and reminder systems to be built into practice systems for one or more of the lifestyle risk factors.

Practice staff can be involved by informing patients that the Practice is involved in Lifescripts or by organising sessions based on the risk factors for patients. Consult the Practice Manual for more information on how to plan the implementation of Lifescripts so that it suits your Practice setting.

The State Based Organisations will be conducting an expression of interest process for Divisions wishing to be involved in Lifescripts. Practices wishing to participate in Lifescripts should contact their Division of General Practice in the first instance to see if the Division will be involved in Lifescripts. If the Division is not participating in Lifescripts at this stage Practices can contact their State Based Organisation who may be able to refer the Practice to a nearby Division that is participating, or provide advice directly to the Practice about how Lifescripts can be implemented.

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