A well-resourced, general practice multidisciplinary team (MDT) has the capacity to coordinate care and ensure patient needs are met. This is particularly important for people with chronic and complex conditions.
More than half of all practising GPs (57%) say they currently work in MDT care arrangements (Figure 16). The incidence of working in these arrangements is higher in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health setting (90%) and hospital settings (79%) compared to a solo practice setting (40%). In addition, GPs who work in remote (63%) or very remote (72%) regions within Australia are more likely to work in a MDT setting compared to major cities (55%).
The 57% of GPs currently in MDT care arrangements are mainly comprised of independent team members within a shared practice (26%) (Figure 16) accessing the same patient medical record. A further 15% work as employees of general practice teams and 14% as members of virtual or multi-location teams.