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released: 17 Mar 2010 author: AIHW media release

Cardiovascular medicines and primary health care: a regional analysis shows how the supply of cardiovascular medicines and primary health-care services differs across regions in Australia. This report examines the complex relationship between cardiovascular diseases, remoteness and the supply of cardiovascular medicines and primary health-care services. It will be of interest to policy makers, providers of health services, researchers in the field of cardiovascular disease, and members of the broader community.

ISSN 1323-9236; ISBN 978-1-74249-001-4; Cat. no. CVD 48; 174pp.; Internet only

Full Publication

Publication table of contents

  • Preliminary material (249KB PDF)
    • Title and verso pages
    • Contents
    • Acknowledgments
    • Abbreviations
    • Summary  
  • Body section
    1. Introduction (89KB PDF)
      • Background
      • Aim of this report
      • Structure of the report
    2. The need for cardiovascular medicines and primary health care across Australian regions (498KB PDF)
      • 2.1 How is the Australian population distributed by region?
      • 2.2 The overall health of Australians by region
      • 2.3 Risk factors for cardiovascular health by region
      • 2.4 Cardiovascular health by region
      • 2.5 Conclusions
    3. Supply of cardiovascular medicines by region (252KB PDF)
      • 3.1 Introduction
      • 3.2 Cardiovascular medicines by region
      • 3.3 Cardiovascular medicine use by Indigenous Australians
      • 3.4 Conclusions
    4. Prescribing patterns of GPs for cardiovascular medicines by region (163KB PDF)
      • 4.1 Introduction
      • 4.2 Prescribing patterns by medicine class
      • 4.3 Conclusions
    5. Primary health-care services (178KB PDF)
      • 5.1 Who are the key providers of primary health-care services?
      • 5.2 Primary health-care services for all Australians
      • 5.3 Primary health-care services for Indigenous Australians
      • 5.4 Conclusions
    6. Conclusions (131KB PDF)
      • 6.1 Main findings
      • 6.2 Main findings for Indigenous Australians
      • 6.3 Implications of the main findings
      • 6.4 Data limitations
      • 6.5 Future directions
  • End matter (365KB PDF)
    • Appendixes
      1. Methods
        • Statistical methods
        • Population data used in this report
        • Reporting Indigenous data
        • Geographical classification
      2. Analysis of medicine supply in this report
        • Cardiovascular medicines
        • How do patients obtain cardiovascular medicines in Australia?
        • What is the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme?
        • Limitations of PBS/RPBS data
      3. Codes used in this report
        • Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification
        • International Classification of Disease (ICD-10) codes
        • International Classification of Primary Care- Version 2 (ICPC-2) codes
        • Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) codes
      4. Estimating GP attendances for cardiovascular problems
        • Data sources
        • Method for creating estimates
      5. Main data sources
        • ABS Census of population and housing
        • ABS National Health Survey (NHS)
        • ABS National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS)
        • AIHW Medical Labour Force Survey
        • AIHW Mortality Database
        • AIHW Hospital Morbidity Database
        • AIHW Nursing and Midwifery Labour Force Survey
        • Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) survey of general practice
        • Medicare data
        • Pharmaceutical Benefits Data System
        • Service Activity Reporting (SAR) questionnaire
      6. Detailed statistical tables
    • Glossary
    • References
    • List of tables
    • List of figures

Recommended citation

AIHW 2010. Cardiovascular medicines and primary health care: a regional analysis. Cardiovascular disease series no. 32. Cat. no. CVD 48. Canberra: AIHW. Viewed 12 June 2013 <http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442468337>.