APCC Team

Improvement Foundation delivers the Australian Primary Care Collaboratives (APCC) Program. The APCC consists of a team of managers and support staff who work within the wider IF team. Each participating Australian Division of General Practice and State Based Organisation receive funding from Improvement Foundation (IF) to provide support and guidance to practices participating in the Program. Each state has an APCC Program Manager, and Regional Manager, and each participating Division involved has a Collaborative Program Manager, based at the Division to support participating practices within that Division.

To contact the APCC team, please click here

To see the IF team, please click here

Use the links below to take you to each of the sections:

APCC Clinical Director and Clinical Chairs

Project Management Advisory Committee (PMAC)

Expert Reference Panel (ERP) members

APCC Program Clinical Director and Clinical Chairs

APCC Clinical Director

Dr Tony Lembke, Alstonville Clinic, NSW

Tony has been a partner at the Alstonville Clinic in NSW for 12 years. He is Chairman of the Northern Rivers Division of General Practice & GP Advisor to the Information Management & Parenting Support projects within the Division. He is editor of the online journal ‘MedicineAu’ and a regular columnist in ‘GP Speak’ and is a Board Member for the Australian General Practice Network.

Clinical Chairs

NSW, QLD, ACT wave

Dr David Richardson, Royston Clinic, VIC

David has been a doctor for more than 20 years. Special interests include minor procedures, preventative medicine, mental health and anti ageing medicine. He has developed special interest and knowledge in Natural (Bio-identical) Hormone Replacement Therapy and has an interest in "Life Extension" therapies. David is currently completing a Nutrition Course at Swinburne University.

WA, SA & NT wave

Dr Mike Civil, Stirk Medical Group, WA

Mike has been a GP at the Stirk Medical Group for the past eight years. Prior to this he ran his own practice in Kalgoorlie for six years, with his wife Cathy (who is also a GP). Originally trained in the UK, they moved to Australia in 1992.

He has a keen interest in computers, having been on the GP Computing Group and has worked in a paperless surgery for nearly 10 years now. He has furthered his interest in computing by obtaining a Graduate Diploma in Computing. Mike also works as an AGPAL surveyor and has been involved with the orientation of overseas trained doctors with WACRRM in WA.

VIC & TAS wave & Virtual wave 1

Dr Richard Bills, Brooke Street Medical Centre, VIC

Richard has been a rural GP in Victoria's Central Highlands for 18 years, and is one of three owners of the Brooke Street Medical Centre - a purpose built, multidisciplinary centre which is strongly focussed on team-based care. His practice was involved in the Collaborative Program during the initial wave that went on to take the RACGP Victorian Practice of the Year in 2006. Richard was a presenter at subsequent waves during the first phase of the Program.

National Wave 4 and Diabetes Prevention & Management wave (NSW)

Dr Charlotte Hespe, Glebe Family Medical Practice, NSW

Charlotte is the GP principal and teaches medical students in a group Family Medical Practice in Glebe, Sydney. She is also the Co-assessment Panel Chair for the NSW Faculty of the RACGP and sits on the RACGP National Fellowship Sub Committee and NSW Faculty Education Committee. She has recently been appointed a Senior Lecturer position for the Notre Dame Post Graduate Medical Program in Sydney. Charlotte is also the Director and Chair for SIGPET (Sydney Institute of General Practice Education and Training) and has been involved in medical education for the SIGPET GP Re entry Program.

COPD & CDPSM wave

Dr John Kastrissios, Springwood Group General Practice, QLD

Dr John Kastrissios was a foundation board member of SouthEast Primary HealthCare Network in 1993. He is also the current Chair for 2009. John has been a General Practice Queensland (and QDGP) board member since 2001 and is also currently the Chair. He was the recipient of the Australian General Practice Network's 2008 John Aloizos Medal for outstanding contribution to the Divisions Network. John is also the Principal in a group general practice in Springwood and has worked there since 1986. He is a general practice supervisor / mentor, involved in the training and supervision of GP registrars and medical students in general practice, on behalf of CSQTC and Griffith University Medical School. He is also a Member of the NeHTA Clinical Leads Program.

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Program Management Advisory Committee (PMAC)

Improvement Foundation (IF) has been contracted by the Commonwealth to deliver the Australian Primary Care Collaborative Program. To meet governance requirements IF established a Project Management Advisory Committee (PMAC).

The PMAC team draws together the considerable skills of Alan Bansemer (Chair), Rosey Batt, Rob DiMonte, Dale Ford, Richard Reed, and Paula Arnol to offer continuing strategic advice and APCC project assurance to the Improvement Foundation Australia (IF) Board.

The PMAC team will provide a valuable resource of experience and expertise across a range of key areas including health policy, primary health care delivery, law, governance, financial management, and organisational change.

Chair

Alan Bansemer
Formerly the Commissioner of Health, Health Department of Western Australia, Alan now acts as a consultant within the Health Sector (nationally) and brings with him extensive experience in governance in not-for profit, finance, primary health care delivery, health policy and an understanding of consumer and carer perspectives.

Members

Ms Paula Arnol
Paula is the CEO of Danila Dilba Health Service, the principal Aboriginal comprehensive primary health care service for Darwin and surrounding areas.

Ms Arnol is currently a member of the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the Northern Territory (AMSANT), Chairperson of the Northern Territory Aboriginal Health Forum, Co-Chair of the Northern Territory Emergency Response Health Expert Panel and a board member of The Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health (CRCAH).

Ms Rosey Batt
Rosey founded Rosey Batt & Associates in 2001 with the vision of creating a highly professional legal firm that valued its clients and provided a family friendly environment for staff. The firm now employs 5 full time lawyers and a number of law clerks.

Rosey has had extensive commercial legal experience acting for Publicly Listed Companies, SME’s and individuals. For a number of years she was a partner with Minter Ellison. Her primary areas of practice are in Business Transactions, Trade Practices, commercialisation of business opportunities, resolving disputes and Intellectual Property. Rosey has extensive Board experience and today sits on a number of Private and Public Sector Boards. Her broad knowledge of Corporate Governance issues has been enhanced by having held the positions of Chair, Deputy Chair and Chair of a number of Corporate Governance committees.

Rob DiMonte
Rob qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1984 and has worked for small and large accounting practices over the past 25 years. Rob’s professional expertise has spanned many of the competency areas for a Chartered Accountant including - audit, tax, business services and for the past 20 years, management consulting. His skills are in business strategy, performance measurement, customer and product profitability, shared services, and process re-engineering. Rob is currently the Managing Partner for Deloitte in Adelaide and also continues to lead their management consulting activities in South Australia. His clients range from large corporations to small and medium enterprises.

Some of Rob's major clients include Australia Post, Mitsubishi Motors, Bridgestone, the Universities of Adelaide, Flinders and South Australia, ETSA Utilities, SA Water, Vodafone, Owens Corning, Santos and General Motors. Rob is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, a Certified Management Consultant, Member of the Institute of Company Directors, former Deputy Chairman of SA Great, former Chairman of VIVASA, Former National President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, Board Member, Institute of Chartered Accountants Benevolent Fund, Vice Chairman of the Deloitte Foundation, AMCHAM Governor and CEDA Trustee

Dr Dale Ford
Dr Dale Ford was previously Clinical Director of National Primary Care Collaboratives Program (Phase 1 of the APCC), a role he held for approximately two years. Dale is a GP and has been a partner in a group practice in Hamilton, Western Victoria for more than 20 years. He is Medical Director of Otway Division of General Practice and has held that position for the past six years.

Dale helped set up Greater Green Triangle GP Education and Training, a regional general practice training provider, was their inaugral Chair and is currently on their Board. He has interests in Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease, working in ICU at Hamilton's Hospital. He is involved in a Diabetes Prevention Project with Greater Green Triangle University Department of Rural Health. He is currently running a Chronic Disease Management Project in conjunction with Wester District Health Service and his practice, using the elemts of the wagner Chronic Disease Model. Dale is an employee of IF and therefore is classed as an internal member.

Professor Richard Reed
Professor Reed is head of the Department of General Practice at Flinders University and has been since 2005 when he migrated to Australia from the USA. Richard possesses American Specialty Certificates in Family Medecine, Geriatric Medicine and Preventative Medicine. He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practice and is clinically active in Adelaide.

Professor Reed has expertise in quality improvement including participation in the implementation of a 48 hospital clinical trial comparing Continuous Quality Improvement to State-of-the-art continuing professional development for the prevention of pressure ulcers. He has also led a clinical trial of a structured approach to the management of diabetes mellitus in 12 large general practices and has an extensive background in guideline implementation and quality improvement methodologies.

Professor Reed also has substantial administrative experience including Chairing the Department of Family Medicine and serving as Acting Dean at United Emirates University before assuming his post at Flinders University.

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Expert Reference Panels (ERP)

An Expert Reference Panel is a group of experts and key professionals with experience in the key topic areas. Each panel has worked together to:

Identify key principles that underlie any improvement in each topic area
Identify, where possible, successful strategies for change in each area
Suggest practical ideas for change in each area that will generate significant improvement
Suggest simple measures that would assist teams in assessing progress

The APCC Program began in Australia with three topic areas, Coronary Heart Disease, Diabetes, and Access and Care Redesign. In July 2009 two additional ERPs were created to work together on the new topics of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Disease Prevention and Self Management.

The APCC has Expert Reference Panels in the five topic areas of:

Last Updated 19 September 2012