PDSA practice guide Up to 9 CPD hrs

BMI measurement and intervention

BMI recording is one of the ten PIP QI improvement measures, and most practices sit well below where they think they are. This cycle sets a measured baseline from your clinical software, introduces one change to how height and weight are captured, and tracks the recording rate across a quarter.

AuthorDr Chris Mitchell AM

CPD hoursUp to 9 CPD hrs

CycleOne quarter, Plan-Do-Study-Act

The guide includes worked examples from the author’s own practice: the baseline search, the triage prompt that lifted recording, and the follow-up pathway for patients whose BMI opens a chronic condition management conversation.

An interactive workbook version of this guide is in pilot. Your answers will save on the computer you use, nothing uploads anywhere, and the finished cycle prints as CPD evidence.

What the guide covers

Measurement method

A paper tally sheet for quarterly measurement weeks, the three metrics to track, active-patient search filtering, and how to run the count without disrupting the practice day. Reception and nursing carry most of it.

Data quality and extraction

The data entry errors that corrupt BMI extraction, height in the weight field and units typed into data fields among them, and the team protocols that fix them without any software change.

Weight management evidence

The clinical knowledge base from structured lifestyle intervention through GLP-1 pharmacotherapy (semaglutide, tirzepatide) and other agents to bariatric surgery, with current PBS status.

CPD hours from this cycle

Up to 9 hours per participating GP when submitted as a practice-based or group activity: 3 hours educational activities, 3 hours reviewing performance, 3 hours measuring outcomes. Nurses record their participation toward the NMBA 20-hour requirement. A certified practice manager can claim the coordination work as professional development, on AAPM's conditions. The completed workbook is the supporting evidence.

Educational activities (3 hrs): Weight management evidence, clinical guidelines and the practice knowledge base.
Reviewing performance (3 hrs): Practice BMI recording rates reviewed against PHN benchmarks, with targets set at the plan meeting.
Measuring outcomes (3 hrs): BMI capture rates, weight management discussions and review scheduling tracked across quarterly measurement weeks.

CPD figures verified against the guide and the CPD home handbooks, 15 July 2026.

What the practice gets

Chronic disease pathways

A recorded BMI is the precondition for evidence-based intervention. It opens GP Chronic Condition Management Plans, Team Care Arrangements and the relevant MBS items.

Reliable practice data

Fixing height and weight entry restores reliable extraction for PHN benchmarking, accreditation and population health reporting. The fix is team education, not new software.

Key topics

BMI recording rates and PHN benchmarking
Data entry standards and reliable extraction
Structured lifestyle intervention and referral
GLP-1 pharmacotherapy and current PBS status
Chronic condition management pathways

Who this is for

Practice managers responsible for data quality, PHN benchmarking, recall systems and accreditation documentation
GP practice owners and GPs lifting recording rates and formalising the weight management approach, with a documented CPD outcome
Nurses and reception staff who run the measurement weeks and hold the data entry standard

Choose your format

Open the interactive workbook

Type into it as you go; saves on your computer

Read the guide

Read online, print to PDF for your records

Download the PDF

A4 PDF for printing or your records

Author: Dr Chris Mitchell AM, FAICD, general practitioner and co-founder of Medius Global. This guide documents cycles run in his own practice. Editorial and review process.