Primary health care

Primary health care is the entry level to the health system and, as such, is usually a person’s first encounter with the health system. It includes a broad range of activities and services, from health promotion and prevention, to treatment and management of acute and chronic conditions. This report includes sources of Primary Health Network (PHN) data, expenditure, delivery of primary health care services including the scope and patient experience. 

Primary health care is usually the first point of contact Australians have with the health care system. Primary health care nurses are the largest group of healthcare professionals working in primary health care. In Australia, at least 82,000 nurses work outside of the hospital setting including nurse practitioners, registered nurses, enrolled nurses and registered midwives. This snapshot demonstrates that primary health care nurses are: mostly women, working in a wide range of settings in the primary health care sector, and are highly qualified and experienced.

COVID-19
This release covers data up to 31 December 2019, preceding COVID-19.