GPs are spending more time with their patients, writing fewer
prescriptions, ordering more tests, doing more procedures and
dispensing more advice about weight and nutrition, according to a
new report released by the Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare (AIHW) and the University of Sydney.
Director of the AIHW's General Practice Statistics and
Classification Centre at the University of Sydney, Professor Helena
Britt, said 'The survey provides unique insights into what happens
inside the over 90 million visits to general practitioners in
Australian each year, and highlights risk factors that will
influence the future course of Australians' health.'
The report, General Practice Activity in Australia
2004-05, shows an increase from 7.0% in 1998 to 9.9% in
2004-05 for long consultation visits as a proportion of all
visits.
'We estimate there were about 2.2 million more long
consultations in 2004-05 than in 1998, which could be due to a
combination of factors such as older people taking up a greater
proportion of the GPs' workload and an increase in the rate of
chronic disease management.
'Both these changes may reflect altered attendance patterns by
the Australian population,' Professor Britt said.
There were about 1.1 million more encounters with elderly
patients (75 years and over), about 1.8 million more with the 'baby
boomers' (45-64 years) and 4.5 million fewer with children than in
1998.
During the same period, the rate of chronic problems managed
significantly increased from 46.5 to 50.8 per 100 encounters, so
that in 2004-05 GPs managed chronic problems on about 1.1 million
more occasions than in 1998. Diabetes, high cholesterol,
osteoarthritis and reflux problems were the more common chronic
conditions explaining the increase.
The report also revealed that GPs are prescribing medications
less often, with the rate falling from 94 per 100 encounters in
1998 to 83 per 100 in 2004-05.
'This means there were about 15.6 million fewer prescriptions
written by GPs in 2004-05 than in 1998,' Professor Britt said.
At the same time, GPs are more often giving their patients
education or counselling about their weight and nutrition;
providing that type of advice at about 1.5 million more
consultations in 2004-05 than in 1998.
Both procedures and tests are happening with more frequency. GPs
are ordering pathology tests more often and, when they do order,
they are ordering more tests at once. In 2004-05, GPs ordered
pathology at 1.5 million more consultations and ordered 5.6 million
more tests than in 2000-01.
6 December 2005
Further information: Professor Helena Britt, 02
9845 8150 or 0411 197 938.
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel 61 2 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the AIHW Publications
Catalogue for availability of the General Practice Activity
in Australia 2004-05 report.