Client contacts
Organisations providing Indigenous primary health services report on both their client contacts and episodes of care in the OSR. Client contacts are a count of the contacts made by each type of health worker in an organisation (both employed and visiting health staff), and include those made by drivers and field officers (transport contacts). All contacts with the same client on the same day are counted as 1 episode of care only, but if more than 1 health worker sees that client in the same day (for example, both a nurse and doctor see the same client) then 1 episode of care will count as multiple client contacts. Client contacts do not include administrative contacts or those relating to groups and residential care.
In 2017–18, organisations providing Indigenous primary health services made around 6.1 million client contacts—an average of nearly 13 contacts per client. Of these:
- 1.8 million contacts (29% of all contacts) were made by nurses and midwives—14% of the total FTE workforce reported by organisations
- 1.7 million client contacts (29%) were made by a general practitioner (GP)—7% of the total FTE workforce reported by organisations
- 900,000 contacts (15%) were made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and practitioners—12% of the FTE workforce reported by organisations
- 500,000 contacts (8%) were transport contacts by drivers and field officers—5% of the total FTE workforce reported by organisations.
The following data visualisation provides more information on the client contacts made by these organisations.