The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is calling on the Federal Government to implement a staged-approach to formalising the ‘medical home’ concept within Australia, in its 2013-14 pre-budget submission.
To facilitate the improved delivery of safe, efficient, coordinated and comprehensive general practice, the RACGP has outlined a number of recommendations to initiate the introduction of the medical home model in Australia.
Dr Liz Marles, RACGP President, said each of the key recommendations outlined in the College’s submission were guided by the known identifiable and measurable benefits of the medical home.
“We know that improving coordination of care, which is a core feature of the medical home model, results in reduced avoidable hospital presentations, hospital admissions and length of hospital stays for patients with one or more chronic diseases,” Dr Marles said.
“As general practitioners have been saying for years, having an established and ongoing relationship with a nominated GP should not be underestimated and can prove highly beneficial to patient health outcomes.”
The medical home model has also shown to improve overall population health, whilst lowering overall healthcare spending.
Key recommendations within the RACGP’s pre-budget submission 2013-14 include:
Voluntary patient registration
- The introduction of a registration patient rebate to formally support the activities of the nominated general practitioner (GP) in registering the patient in the medical home
Revamped chronic disease management system – reducing red tape whilst improving coordination of care
- Introduction of an initial attendance item to determine the patients’ healthcare needs
- Streamlining current chronic disease management MBS items for patients with low-to-medium healthcare needs, providing access for up to 5 allied health services through a General Practice Management Plan (GPMP)
- Introduction of Chronic Disease Management Plus (CDM+) to support the care and coordination of patients with complex healthcare needs, providing access for up to 10 allied health services if required, and properly supported care coordination.
Point of Care Testing (PoCT)
- Introduce a general practice PoCT item number for INR tests
Utilising telehealth services to improve chronic disease management activities
- Amend GP consultation items 3 and 23 to include reference to telehealth consultations* rebatable at 75% of the scheduled fee
- *The Medicare benefit of 75% of the schedule fee can be recognized by using a suffix, such as an asterisk, after the item number (i.e. 3* or 23*) to denote consultation conducted by telehealth
Improving health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples
- Expand Indigenous Health Incentive to include an initial attendance item and CDM+
Infrastructure to support team care
- Further expand the Primary Care Infrastructure Grants Program to ensure team based care and community education are central components of the medical home concept
Supporting supervisors and increasing training capacity
- Increase the Practice Incentive Payment (PIP) Teaching Incentive Payment
- Increase the Prevocational Training General Practice Placements Program (PGPPP) to 1,500 throughout Australia by 2016
- Ensure that PGPPP funding recognises the diversity of Australian general practice
Progressing the medical home
- Providing funding for the RACGP to lead national discussion to propose a service and funding model for implementation
The RACGP welcomes the opportunity to further discuss the details and practicalities of implementing the medical home model in an Australian context and thanks the Department of Health and Ageing for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion regarding the Health and Ageing Budget for 2013-14.
The RACGP’s 2013-14 pre-budget submission is now available online.