RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Australian Experiment: How Primary Health Care Organizations Supported the Evolution of a Primary Health Care System
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP S18
OP S26
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2012.02.110219
VO 25
IS Suppl 1
A1 Caroline Nicholson
A1 Claire L. Jackson
A1 John E. Marley
A1 Robert Wells
YR 2012
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/25/Suppl_1/S18.abstract
AB Primary health care in Australia has undergone 2 decades of change. Starting with a vision for a national health strategy with general practice at its core, Australia established local meso-level primary health care organizations—Divisions of General Practice—moving from focus on individual practitioners to a professional collective local voice. The article identifies how these meso-level organizations have helped the Australian primary health care system evolve by supporting the roll-out of initiatives including national practice accreditation, a focus on quality improvement, expansion of multidisciplinary teams into general practice, regional integration, information technology adoption, and improved access to care. Nevertheless, there are still challenges to ensuring equitable access and the supply and distribution of a primary care workforce, addressing the increasing rates of chronic disease and obesity, and overcoming the fragmentation of funding and accountability in the Australian system.