A report released today by the Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare and the University of Sydney examines changes in the
clinical activities of GPs and management of disease over the last
decade in the context of policy changes, changes in the GP
workforce and the ageing population.
The report, General practice in Australia, health priorities
and policies 1998 to 2008, focuses on the management of
conditions declared as national health priority areas.
According to the report, GPs are spending an increasing
proportion of their time with older patients and are managing more
chronic diseases.
'The issues that patients bring to the doctor have both changed
and become more complex over time,' said Dr Helena Britt of the
Australian General Practice Statistics and Classification Centre, a
collaborating unit of the Institute and the University of
Sydney.
There are now more requests for services such as check-ups, and
requests for prescriptions, and GPs are doing more checking and
managing of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol and depression.
'The way general practice has changed over the last decade has
brought some positive outcomes, including increased detection and
management of Type 2 diabetes, more involvement in detecting and
managing cancers and other chronic conditions,' Dr Britt said.
'Referrals to psychologists for psychological problems have
increased, particularly since some consultations with psychologists
became a Medicare item, but there has been no decrease in GP
involvement in their management, which suggests more sharing of
care between these professions,' she said.
Areas where there have been policy changes but no measurable
change in GP behaviour in the last 10 years include management of
arthritis and most other musculoskeletal conditions, and management
of heart disease and stroke.
'However the lack of an increase in the GP management of stroke
and arthritis in an ageing population does suggest better
preventive care in these areas,' Dr Britt said.
The report raises some concerns about increasing frequency of
adverse events due to drug side-effects, and the ever-increasing
number of pathology tests being ordered. It also suggests that the
under-identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Australians in general practice settings is hindering the impact of
policies aiming to improve the health of Indigenous
Australians.
The BEACH (Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health) program
is a continuous national study (since 1998) based on data collected
from about 1,000 GPs every year. This report uses data from 990,000
GP-patient encounters.
Wednesday 8 July 2009
Further information: Dr Helena Britt, tel. (02)
9845 8150, mob. 0411 197 938
For media copies of the report: Publications
Officer, AIHW, tel. (02) 6244 1032.
Availability: Check the Publications area for
the availability of General practice in
Australia, health priorities and policies 1998 to
2008.