Primary Sense was first developed by Gold Coast Primary Health Network (GCPHN) in 2018 to simplify the process of collecting disaggregated data (e.g., data at the visit or patient level) and improve the quality of data collected for a range of public and population health improvement initiatives.
Since then, Primary Sense has undergone scale development as a national data extraction and clinical support tool, owned by a group of collaborating PHNs nationally and managed by Western Australia Primary Health Alliance (WAPHA).
As of November 2024, Primary Sense is being used by 12 of 31 PHNs nationwide, collecting data for around 12 million patients.
It is anticipated that by 2026, all 7 PHNs in Queensland will be transitioned to the use of Primary Sense.
Primary Sense Strategic Vision
Primary Sense aims to improve the health of the community by reducing avoidable medication errors, identifying and targeting interventions to higher risk populations, and slowing the trajectory of chronic diseases. This is planned to be achieved through:
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early detection of modifiable health risks,
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improved patient safety through reduction of preventable medication errors,
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target prevention and monitoring for patients at high risk of hospitalisation or death,
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improved decision making through access to streamlined, relevant, digestible information that enables patients and clinicians to improve the experience of care, and
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increased participation and capacity to engage in primary care research.
Use of Primary Sense data for research
Gold Coast PHN is a data custodian for general practice data collated through Primary Sense. All data received is de-identified, and does not contain patients’ names, date of birth, or residential location.
Data Sharing Agreements with general practices using Primary Sense identify a range of permitted primary and secondary uses of data, which include research and evaluation activities. Each research study is endorsed by the Gold Coast Primary Sense
Clinical Advisory Group and approved by the Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee. General practices are advised of the use of data for each research project, and are provided the opportunity to opt out of participation.
In 2023 and 2024, GCPHN have engaged in several research projects in collaboration with local academic partners:
Bond University:
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Medication Safety Alerts during a GP visit: do they lead to improved care?
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Practice attendance and patient loyalty? Frequency, patterns, and spatial analysis of patients receiving care from more than one GP
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Indicators of physical health among patients with mental health diagnosis: analysis of general practice data
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Which patients are at risk of becoming long term opioid users? Retrospective analysis of primary care data from the Gold Coast
University of Queensland:
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Construct validation of Primary Sense Frailty Flag
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VaxiMum: Pregnancy loss <24 weeks gestation and maternal vaccination
Examples of past research using Primary Sense published in peer-reviewed journal articles:
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Primary Sense: a new population health management tool for general practice
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Supporting quality and safety in general practice: Response rates to computer decision support
Contact Gold Coast Primary Health Network for more information.
