CPD PDSA guide
A worked PDSA cycle for closing the loop on unactioned results and correspondence, clearing the backlog and keeping it clear as a whole practice team.
Every practice accumulates test results and correspondence that were seen but never marked as discussed with the patient. Some were actioned in a consultation and simply not marked off as notified; some were seen by a duty doctor and the loop was never closed; a smaller number were flagged urgent and the notes do not make clear whether the matter was resolved. A result that is actioned but not documented looks identical, in the record, to one that was never discussed, which is both a patient-safety risk and a waste of the next doctor's time.
This guide takes your practice team through a complete Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle on results handling: auditing the backlog by urgency and by doctor, agreeing a clearance protocol, clearing the urgent list first, and embedding a habit of actioning results at every visit so the backlog does not rebuild. It includes the Best Practice and Automed software steps our practice used, and a background section on why unclosed loops are a risk and how automated messaging supports a results workflow.
Completing the full cycle contributes CPD hours across Educational Activities, Reviewing Performance and Measuring Outcomes when submitted as a practice-based or group activity. Because clearing a backlog is itself part of the review, results handling generates far more reviewing-performance time than a typical PDSA.
Running the results and correspondence search in your clinical software, setting date ranges by urgency, and establishing a baseline count of unactioned results by category and by doctor.
Agreeing a clearance protocol, clearing the urgent-review backlog first, tracking the time each doctor spends, and embedding a habit of actioning results at every visit so the backlog stays clear.
Best Practice and Automed steps for bulk marking, flagging contacted patients and a correspondence shortcut, plus how automated patient messaging fits into a results workflow.
Hours count across the three RACGP CPD categories. The figures below are what our worked cycle logged (30 hours total); your figures will differ, and a smaller backlog will generate fewer reviewing-performance hours.
Practice meetings and reviewing the vendor's results and messaging training resources.
Logged clearance activities and time taken actioning results during consultations. High here because clearing the backlog is part of the review.
Downloading and analysing the reports across the data collection periods.
Auditing unactioned results by urgency and by doctor
Agreeing a clearance protocol as a team
Clearing the urgent backlog and measuring the reduction
Best Practice and Automed software steps
Automated messaging and closing the loop at every visit
A clean results workflow closes patient-safety loops, saves the next doctor's time, and underpins every other recall and screening PDSA your practice runs.
Failure to follow up test results is one of the more common sources of patient-safety incidents and medico-legal complaints in general practice. Marking results as discussed makes the loop visible to the whole team, so the next doctor can tell what is still outstanding.
An unactioned result or correspondence is potentially a reminder that has not been started. A clean results workflow is the foundation that cervical screening, lung cancer screening, Prolia monitoring and other recall-driven PDSAs rely on.
This PDSA guide is free for Australian GP practices.