GPMRI team hits milestone of 1,000 trained GPs!

The ACC GP MRI team has continued the national rollout by hosting several education sessions for GPs across the North Island – with the most recent education session held in Tauranga.

The ACC GP MRI project creates a pathway to support GPs to make direct referrals for MRIs. The pathway focuses on patients with knee and back (cervical and lumbar spine) injuries. As a result of this initiative, wait times for patients to access diagnostics have significantly reduced, unnecessary surgery is avoided, and the rehabilitation process can begin faster.

The sessions include learning about the programme and patient eligibility, and how to perform musculoskeletal assessments. Additionally, GPs learn the mechanism for making a referral to ACC MRI providers, providing clinical governance and support, as well as collection of patient outcomes.

Last week saw a huge achievement for the Pinnacle Midlands Health Network and ProCare teams, reaching a grand total of 1,003 accredited GPs, this is an outstanding effort for all involved.

We are pleased to have accredited GPs across Whangārei, Tāmaki Makaurau, Waikato, Whitianga, Taupō, Tauranga, and Tairāwhiti. Planning for Thames is now underway.

A big thank you to everyone who has been involved with making the sessions a success. It has also been great to see the collaboration between various PHOs and physiotherapists across the regions.