Building a 21st Century Primary Health Care System: A Draft of Australia's First National Primary Health Care Strategy
The Future
A strong, responsive and cost-effective primary health care system is central to equipping the Australian health system to meet future challenges.
As part of a modern system Medicare - with its underpinning principle of universal access to a patient rebate for certain health services - remains a fundamental tenet. Moving forward, the focus is to continue to rely on Medicare rebates for those things they were designed to support and do well - access to specific episodes of care for treatment of illness and ill-health.
For other aspects of care, however, the MBS is not always the most appropriate financing tool. The MBS does not enable scarce health resources to be targeted where they are most needed and cannot readily respond to emerging challenges or enable reform.
A new and more systematic approach is needed to the funding and delivery of those types of health care for which the MBS is not well suited. This approach should complement access to Medicare rebates but address system gaps and failings and drive quality and improved health outcomes.
Key to this is funding and service delivery arrangements which, within a national framework, can better respond to the needs and priorities of local communities, but remain well integrated with a 'Medicare core'.
To build such a modern primary health care system, there are 5 key building blocks:
- Regional integration
- Information and technology, including eHealth
- Skilled workforce
- Infrastructure
- Financing and system performance
These building blocks are essential system-wide underpinnings for a responsive and integrated primary health care system for the 21st century.
Drawing from these are 4 priority directions for change:
- Key Priority Area 1: Improving access and reducing inequity
- Key Priority Area 2: Better management of chronic conditions
- Key Priority Area 3: Increasing the focus on prevention
- Key Priority Area 4: Improving quality, safety, performance and accountability
These priority directions have been identified through consultations, as the priority areas where change is most needed to set up the system of the future.
They address the shortcomings of current arrangements which most directly impact on the community and the health professionals who work in it.
Actions in all 4 priority areas are underpinned by the 5 key building blocks. The 5 key building blocks and 4 priority directions are summarised in the table on the following page.
Towards a 21st Century Primary Health Care System - A SNAPSHOT
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- Towards a 21st Century Primary Health Care System - A SNAPSHOT (PDF 29 KB)
- Towards a 21st Century Primary Health Care System - A SNAPSHOT (DOC 70 KB)
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