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Chapter 2: General practice access

2.1 Patient access to, and experience of, general practice

General practice is Australia’s healthcare frontline, with almost 85% of the population visiting their GP at least once each year.1

Patients reported they visit their GP more than any other health professional – more than they visit a pharmacist, physiotherapist or dental professional or see other specialists (Figure 13).

Figure 13. Patients reported they see their GP more than any other health professional

Patients reported they see their GP more than any other health professional

Measure: Patient responses to the question, ‘In the last 12 months, have you [insert category]?’
Base: Total survey responses, n = 29,793.
Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Patient experiences in Australia: Summary of findings, 2019–20. Cat. no. 4839.0. Canberra: ABS, 2020.

General practice remains highly accessible, with less than 1% of patients reporting they needed to, but did not, see a GP at all in the previous 12 months.18

Nearly half (45%) of Australians who needed to see a GP reported that they visited one four or more times during the year.18 Patient age and gender influence frequency of presentations, with females seeing their GP more often than males and older people visiting their GP more regularly than younger people (Figure 14).


Almost nine in 10 (87%) GPs indicated their practice has same-day appointments set aside for urgent presentations.3
 

Figure 14. Age and gender have an effect on how often patients visit their GP

Age and gender have an effect on how often patients visit their GP

Data of less than 5% not labelled.
Measure: Patient responses to the question, ‘Since <month> last year, how many times did you see a GP for your own health?’, split by patient gender and patient age.
Base: Total survey responses, n = 29,793.
Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Patient experiences in Australia: Summary of findings, 2019–20. Cat. no. 4839.0. Canberra: ABS, 2020.

Patients consistently reported very positive experiences with their GP. More than nine in 10 said their GP listens carefully, 95% said their GP always or often shows respect, and more than 90% reported their GP always or often spends enough time with them (Figure 15).

Figure 15. Patients reported positive experiences with their GP

Patients reported positive experiences with their GP

Measure: Patient responses to the question, ‘Thinking about all the GPs you have seen in the last 12 months, how often did they [listen carefully to/show respect for/spend enough time with you]?’, split by patient-reported frequency of GP behaviour.
Base: Total survey responses, n = 29,793.
Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Patient experiences in Australia: Summary of findings, 2019–20. Cat. no. 4839.0. Canberra: ABS, 2020.

Older patients are more likely to report a positive experience with their GP than younger patients and are also more likely to have a preferred GP (Figure 16).

The number of people who reported they had a preferred GP rose to 76.3% in 2019–20, an increase of 0.8% from the previous year. The largest increase was seen in the 15–24-year-old female cohort of respondents.18

Figure 16. Older patients and female patients are more likely to have a preferred GP

Older patients and female patients are more likely to have a preferred GP

Measure: Patients that responded ‘yes’ to the question, ‘Do you have a GP you prefer to see?’, split by age and gender.
Base: Total survey responses, n = 29,793.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics. Patient experiences in Australia: Summary of findings, 2019–20. Cat. no. 4839.0. Canberra: ABS, 2020.

2.1.2 Experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face considerable health inequities driven by factors such as socioeconomic determinants of health, resulting in gaps in life expectancy between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous Australians. Improving patient experiences of health services, as well as increasing ease of access to those services, will contribute to better health outcomes.21

Primary healthcare for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is delivered by a range of providers, including mainstream organisations (such as general practices) and Indigenous-specific organisations.

Almost nine in 10 (86%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported seeing a GP or other medical specialist in the last 12 months.22 The rate of general practice MBS items claimed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased by 42% between 2003–04 and 2017–18 and has been slightly higher than the rate for non-Indigenous Australians since 2010–11.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people use GP services at rates that are slightly higher than non-Indigenous Australians (1.2 times) but do not reflect the higher level of need among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.23

More than one in 10 (13%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people said they had needed to see a GP but had not done so on at least one occasion in the last 12 months. The proportion of people who did not see a GP when needed is higher for those living in non-remote areas (14%) than in remote areas (8%). The most common reasons for not going are being too busy (33%) and deciding to not seek care (28%).22

More than nine out of 10 (92%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported they have a usual place to go for health services and advice. Of these, 34% usually go to an Aboriginal medical service (AMS) or community clinic and 54% go to a GP or other doctor.[22] Almost seven in 10 (68%) people living in remote areas reported they usually see a GP who is part of an AMS or community clinic, compared with almost three in 10 (29%) in non-remote areas.22

When asked about their preferred source of medical help, almost half (48%) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported they prefer to go to an AMS or a community clinic, 43% prefer a doctor or GP (other than at an AMS, community clinic or hospital), 7% prefer a hospital and 3% prefer other healthcare (including a traditional healer or Ngangkari).22

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reported more positive experiences of their care at AMSs, community clinics and with their GP than with use of hospital services (Figure 17).

Figure 17. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a regular GP or AMS reported greater satisfaction levels

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a regular GP or AMS reported greater satisfaction levels

Measure: Survey participants that responded ‘always’ or ‘usually’ to question, ‘In the last 12 months, how often did your GP/doctor etc listen to you, explain things in a way that you could understand, show respect for what you had to say, spend enough time with you?’ And survey participants that responded ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ to the question, ‘Overall, how good was the healthcare you got from GPs and other health services in the last 12 months?’ cross referenced to usual source of healthcare or advice.
Base: Total survey respondents, n = 10,579.
Source: AIHW and ABS analysis of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey 2018–19.

  • 1. Department of Health. Annual Medicare statistics: Financial year 1984–85 to 2020–21. Canberra: DoH, 2021.
  • 3. EY Sweeney. RACGP GP Fellow Survey. Melbourne: EY Sweeney, 2021.
  • 18. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Patient Experiences in Australia: Summary of Findings, 2019–20. Canberra: ABS, 2020.
  • 19. Maarsingh OR, Henry Y, van de Ven PM, et al. Continuity of care in primary care and association with survival in older people: A 17-year prospective cohort study. Br J Gen Pract 2016;66(649):e531–9. doi:10.3399/bjgp16X686101.
  • 20. Barker I, Steventon A, Deeny S. Association between continuity of care in general practice and hospital admissions for ambulatory care sensitive conditions: Cross sectional study of routinely collected, person level data. BMJ 2017;356. doi:10.1136/bmj.j84.
  • 21. Jones B, Heslop D, Harrison R. Seldom heard voices: A meta-narrative systematic review of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples healthcare experiences. Int J Equity Health 2020;19(222). doi:10.1186/s12939-020-01334-w.
  • 22. Australian Bureau of Statistics. National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey, 2018–19. Canberra: ABS, 2019.
  • 23. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2020 summary report. Canberra: AIHW, 2020.