Quality Use of Pathology Program

About the program

The QUPP provides grants for projects that support quality:

pathology referrals
pathology practices
consumer-focused initiatives.

It funds projects that are in line with the:

QUPP goals
strategic direction of the National Pathology Accreditation Scheme.

Goals

The QUPP aims to help the pathology sector innovate and improve. It encourages the sector to do this through:

evidence-based referral practices that:
- increase health benefits for patients
- inform consumers
- are supported by strong relationships and processes between referrers and pathology providers
initiatives to support professional practice standards that:
- meet consumer and referrer needs
- provide quality, efficient, and cost-effective pathology services
consumer-focused initiatives that:
- promote informed choice
- meet consumer needs.

Who we work with

We may work with the pathology sector as needed to provide advice on the QUPP.

Apply for funding

We publish grant opportunities on GrantConnect when available.

Read the feedback to applicants for the 2021–23 grant round.

Status

From 1 July 2024, the QUPP will merge into the Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology (QUDTP) Program.

The redesigned QUDTP Program will include:

a dedicated quality use of pathology project stream
the existing Health Professional Education Stream
the existing Consumer Health Literacy Stream.

This will not significantly affect the:

processes to apply for future grants
the types of organisations which will be eligible to apply.

The Australian Government outlined this change in the 2023-24 Budget.

Current funded projects

Quality assurance for genomic testing for childhood syndromes and intellectual disability

The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) Quality Assurance Programs will develop and pilot a quality assurance program.

The program will improve and standardise (for childhood syndromes and intellectual disability) publicly funded genomic test:

analysis
interpretation
results
reporting.

Quality use of non-invasive prenatal rhesus factor D testing

The Australian and New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion will map all steps in the pathology testing process for rhesus factor D (RhD) negative women.

This project will:

standardise and improve clinical testing pathways to help:
- general practitioners (GPs)
- obstetricians
- pathologists
ensure use of anti-D prophylaxis is appropriate and in line with guidance from the National Blood Authority.

RCPA manual 2022–2023

The RCPA will revise and publish an electronic version of its RCPA Manual.

The manual will:

be a portable, accessible and complete resource
help health practitioners choose pathology tests appropriately and efficiently.

Quality assurance program for genomic pathology reports

The RCPA Quality Assurance Programs will develop an external quality assurance program to:

identify the discipline-specific requirements for genomic pathology
measure the quality of genomic pathology reports using best practice guidelines or standards.

Self-collection vs practitioner collection project 2

The Victorian Cytology Service will compare human papillomavirus (HPV) nucleic acid amplification testing of:

self-collected specimens
specimens collected by a clinician.

It will compare the sensitivity, specificity and concordance of the testing of each specimen type.

GP resources to promote best practice in pathology ordering

Medcast provides health professional education. It will develop a multifaceted educational intervention for GPs. This resource will support GPs to:

use pathology tests more effectively
reduce the harms of non-rational test ordering
decrease costs from low-value test ordering.

Emergency Department Pathology Order Support Tool

Macquarie University will design an intelligent digital health pathology ordering support tool for clinicians in hospital emergency departments. It will:

promote appropriate, safe and effective use of pathology
use patient data to help decide appropriate pathology orders
provide clinicians with information that will help them to choose pathology tests wisely
reduce over-testing for lower risk patients and reduce under-testing in higher risk categories.

Pathology Informatics Interoperability Pilot

This RCPA project seeks to show that using their Standardised Pathology Informatics in Australia (SPIA) Guidelines provides:

interoperability advantages
benefits for the pathology sector and patients.

Pathology workforce review and planning strategies 2023-2024

This RCPA project will:

measure the state of the pathology workforce
develop strategies to address workforce supply and demand gaps.

It will focus on fields where there are shortages, such as:

genetic pathology
immunopathology
chemical pathology.

Enhancing the Pathology Tests Explained website

The Australasian Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine will develop new:

consumer-focused content for 40 pathology tests for the Pathology Tests Explained website
downloadable patient information sheets for the tests.

Electronic Clinical Decision Support workflow requirements

The RCPA will:

assess the compliance of pathology laboratory information systems against the SPIA Guidelines for receiving and reporting eReferrals
conduct a survey of GPs with varying degrees of electronic Clinical Decision Support usage.

Collected data from both approaches will help inform strategies to:

support engagement
encourage best practice
reduce inappropriate pathology requesting.

Feedback on pathology requesting practices of emergency department clinicians

Monash University will use digital health techniques to give feedback on pathology requesting practices in 11 hospitals.

The feedback will be customised for each clinician. It aims to help clinicians in emergency departments to:

improve the quality of clinical care
reduce inappropriate pathology ordering.

Reports from past projects