Primary care access, affordability central to Australia's health reforms
01-Oct-15, Australian Healthcare & Hospitals Association
The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) calls on the Commonwealth Government to collect and provide more timely and local health data, and to keep affordability and access to primary health care in mind as it makes changes to the health care system.
%20University%20of%20Queensland.jpg "Primary care access affordability central to Australias health (c) University of Queensland")
Image: University of Queensland
“The primary health data released today is 15 months old,” said Alison Verhoeven, AHHA Chief Executive, when commenting on the National Health Performance Authority’s 2013–14 data on access to health care specific to each of the new 31 Primary Health Networks (PHNs).
“More current data would show the effects on people’s access to health care of the Medicare rebate freeze and the downturn in the Australian economy, which are not represented in today’s data; and greater disaggregation of data at a local level, such as Local Government Areas, would facilitate responses by PHNs.”