The Practice Incentives Program (PIP) is a Commonwealth Government program intended to recognise and reward general practices that provide comprehensive quality care.  

The Quality Prescribing Initiative (QPI) is part of PIP, and specifically aims to encourage general practitioners (GPs) to participate in activities designed to foster Quality Use of Medicines.  QPI is an entirely voluntary component of PIP.  

An annual PIP payment of $1 per Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE) will be made by the Commonwealth Government to practices that complete the required number of recognised QPI activities.  The average full-time equivalent (FTE) GP sees 1,000 SWPEs annually.  SWPEs and the total number of activities required by each practice are calculated by the Medicare and are indicated on your quarterly PIP Payment Statement.  

Practices registered under PIP must complete the required number of activities by 30 April each year.  If you are not a PIP practice, you will be required to register with Medicare for accreditation upon joining PIP.  If you have any queries about these requirements or to register your practice in the PIP, call the PIP Enquiry Line on 1800 222 032.  

To qualify for QPI-PIP payment, a practice must complete on average three (3) activities for each FTE GP. One of these must be a clinical audit co-ordinated or recognised by NPS.  Individual GPs within the practice may undertake more or less activities, as long as the practice completes the total number of activities required. As a guide, each PIP Payment Statement provides an estimate of the number of activities required by your practice. The PIP Payment Statement issued in February (before the close of the QPI year) provides the actual number of activities that your practice must have completed. 

For your practice to receive payment for QPI activities, you will be required to include your name and contact details as well as your provider and prescriber numbers on the activity forms – this information is kept strictly confidential.


NPS Clinical Audits

NPS provides at least two clinical audits each year that qualify for PIP Payment.  Enrolment forms are included in the NPS Prescribing Practice Review, sent directly to all GPs.  To complete the NPS clinical audits, GPsa re required to collect information on their management of a set number of patients presenting with the specific condition described in the clinical audit.  The clinical audit is available both electronically and paper-based. 

Expert feedback and/or questions for individual review are provided for each audit.  To be eligible for PIP, the complete audit cycle including all steps must be completed.  NPS clinical audits may also be eligible for clinical audit points under the RACGP Quality Assurance and Continuing Professional Development Program.  NPS clinical audit activities for GPs are free. 

NPS may also approve clinical audits from other providers that focus on pharmacotherapeutics as eligible for PIP payment.  However, these non-NPS activities may or may not incur a cost.  Please contact the relevent activity provider to enquire about associated cost, and NPS to check if the clinical audit will be recognised as one of your QPI activities.  Non-NPS clinical audit providers are responsible for submitting their clinical audits to NPS for assessment against NPS criteria.  It is also their responsibility to provide details of the GPs who have completed approved clinical aduits to the NPS. 


NPS Case Studies 

NPS case studies are included in the NPS News, distributed every two months to all GPs along with Australian Prescriber.  Completed case studies are returned to NPS for analysis.  An aggregate of responses and an expert commentary are then sent to the participants.  The Wheatbelt GP Network also facilitates discussion of these cases in small groups.  If you do not current receive Australian Prescriber and NPS News, please inform the Wheatbelt GP network on (08) 9621 1530. 


NPS Practice Visits 

At Wheatbelt GP Network, a part-time NPS Facilitator has been employed to visit GPs in their practices and discuss how current evidence on specific therapeutic topics translates into quality prescribing for their patients.  

A practice visit by an NPS Facilitator, on a therapeutic topic, can qualify as one of the QPI activities that are eligible for PIP payment.  Each practice visit should take no more than 30 minutes. 



For more information about any of the NPS programs or QPI-PIP payment, please contact NPS Facilitator on (08) 9621 1530 or email qum@wheatbelt.com.au.