Every 30 minutes, one Australian loses their life to heart disease, yet it takes less than 30 minutes to conduct a heart health check and prevent this. In Western Sydney, we’ve set up the Cardiology in Community program to help identify more people at risk of cardiovascular disease and improve care for atrial fibrillation patients within a general practice setting.
What is Cardiology in Community?
The Cardiology in Community (CIC) program is part of the Western Sydney Care Collective initiative, designed to deliver integrated and coordinated care within a primary health setting. CIC provides access to general practice, specialists, pharmacists and health care tools to help deliver coordinated, timely cardiology care.
CIC is designed to support patients in Western Sydney aged 45 years and over who have the following co-morbidities and lifestyle factors that could increase their likelihood of developing atrial fibrillation (AF):
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Sleep Apnea
- Smoking
- Alcohol consumption
- Stroke
If you have a patient at risk of AF or who has shown signs of AF in early intervention screening, your patient can participate in the Cardiology in Community pathway and receive free, comprehensive care.
As a GP of a patient in CIC, you will be part of a team engaged in comprehensive, streamlined handover of care for patients who leave hospital or Rapid Access and Stabilisation Services (RASS), ensuring you are kept informed and included in the patient’s care process and referral pathways.
How Do My Patients and Practice Benefit from CIC?
Early intervention is key for addressing cardiovascular issues and preventing chronic illnesses and complications. Under CIC, patients will have access to resources such as remote monitoring devices which are coordinated by a care facilitator.
The length of your patients’ participation in the Cardiology in Community program will depend on their specific risk factors and medical conditions. Participation is voluntary and remains a discussion between yourself and the patient to ensure that you are comfortable with the outcomes of the program.
As the clinician overseeing care for your patient, you will have access to remote monitoring devices that can be used to monitor your patient’s condition. You will also have improved accessibility to specialist and Rapid Access and Stabilisation Services (RASS) support creating collaboration to prevent hospital admissions where possible.
Cardiology Resources to Support Your Practice
- GoShare Bundles: GoShare is a free patient education platform that allows general practice to share tailored and latest resources (including videos and fact sheets) with patients. There are specific CIC GoShare bundles and an interactive AF module that can help increase health literacy and enhance patient awareness and engagement.
- HealthPathways: find the latest Cardiology clinical topics, protocols and localised referral services (public and private) on the Western Sydney HealthPathways website:
- GP Support Line: GPs have direct access to specialist advice and escalation options through Rapid Access Stabilisation (RAS) Service. Call 1300 972 915 Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 7:00pm
- InTouch Facilitator: A facilitator helps navigate care for people with chronic disease conditions who are at high risk of hospitalisation. Call 1800 113 644 or visit Care Facilitator HealthPathways for more information
To access this suite of tools and resources, contact the Western Sydney Care Collective team via email wscarecollective@wentwest.com.au
Take Part in Heart Week
Increase heart health screening in your practice for Heart Week to help identify patients at risk of CVD. You can utilise the Heart Foundation’s free Heart Health Check Toolkit which helps calculate CVD risk (under MBS items 699 and 177).
Heart Foundation is also running a Heart Week webinar, ‘Risky business: Understanding and managing residual CVD risk’, on Wednesday 3 May, 7:00pm to 8:00pm.
If your practice is going above and beyond for Heart Week, you can enter Heart Foundation’s Heart Week display competition to win one of two $500 vouchers. To enter, share photos on social media with #HeartWeek2023 and tag The Heart Foundation. Eligible displays must be in shared patient areas within health care settings.
To access additional cardiology resources or find out more about Cardiology in Community, contact wscarecollective@wentwest.com.au
Information correct as of 26 April 2023