Primary Health Care

Primary health care should be established as the cornerstone of a future person-centred health system. We need strengthened primary health care services in the community to become the 'first contact' for providing care for most health needs for most people.

National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission Fact Sheet

Australian Government Leadership
Investment in infrastructure
Better management of patients with high needs
Focus on outcomes
Better integration of services
Taking pressure off other parts of the health system
More information

Primary health care should be established as the cornerstone of a future person-centred health system. We need strengthened primary health care services in the community to become the 'first contact' for providing care for most health needs for most people.

Australian Government Leadership

The Australian Government should take responsibility for funding and policy for primary health care and provide national leadership. This includes becoming responsible for services currently funded by state, territory and local governments, such as community health services, family and child health services, community nursing, allied health, and alcohol and drug treatment services. States may continue to operate public primary health care services.

Investment in infrastructure

There should be widespread establishment of Comprehensive Primary Health Care Centres, supported by government through initial fixed capital grants. These centres would be a ‘one-stop shop’ so that patients would get access to an expanded range of services (such as pathology, imaging, community nursing, or allied health), with extended opening hours at more convenient times for patients.

Better management of patients with high needs

There should be voluntary enrolment for young families and complex care patients with a single primary health care service of their choice, which would provide an ongoing point of contact for patients. The aim is also to provide continuity of care, particularly in the early years of life.

There should be shared-care arrangements between primary health care practitioners and specialists - especially for people with chronic, complex conditions.

Focus on outcomes

Performance payments for prevention, timeliness and quality of care would help embed a strong focus on quality and health outcomes and complement fee for service payments.

Better integration of services

Primary Health Care Organisations (evolving from or replacing Divisions of General Practice) should provide future service coordination and population health planning within local communities.

Taking pressure off other parts of the health system

In the medium to longer term, investing in strengthened primary care will reduce growth in projected health expenditure. Better access to primary health care will mean reductions in obesity and smoking and earlier and better treatment of chronic diseases. These impacts will flow through to reductions in other disease, especially cardiovascular diseases, and hence reductions not only in mortality and morbidity but also in more expensive acute hospital care.

More information

This is a summary of some of the major recommendations of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission. Full recommendations can be found in A Healthier Future For All Australians – Final Report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission – June 2009