The matrix is designed to give GPs an indication of the risks patients have of developing more severe disease...
Professor Mark Morgan is co-Chair of the Primary and Chronic Care Panel on the taskforce, as well as Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee – Quality Care (REC–QC).
‘This risk classification tool is trying to give an idea of what an individual’s risk might be of severe disease,’ he told newsGP.
‘That will determine whether or not they’re likely to benefit from one of the disease-modifying treatments, or some additional observation and extra attention to capture any deterioration in their clinical condition.’
The matrix assesses the risks according to a number of factors, including age, vaccination status, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, and co-morbidities.
Professor Morgan believes GPs are likely to find to the tool useful, but he reinforced that it does not give a precise indication of individual risks.
‘It’s not categorical,’ he said. ‘You couldn’t use it to give somebody a percentage chance, because there are so many factors in terms of comorbidities, how many comorbidities and how severe they are, or frailty that might impact this.
‘It’s a way of taking those separate types of risk factors and pulling them together to give an overall indication.’
COVID-19 risks
Primary Care
Multimorbidity