Policy Online carries a link (6.3.16) to a Grattan Institute report showing inefficiencies in the delivery of primary health care to Australians, and the extra costs this places upon a straining health system and budget.
‘Ineffective management of heart disease, asthma, diabetes and other chronic diseases costs the Australian health system more than $320 million each year in avoidable hospital admissions.
‘At best, our primary care system provides only half the recommended care for many chronic conditions. Only a quarter of the nearly one million Australians diagnosed with type 2 diabetes get the monitoring and treatment recommended for their condition.
‘Each year there are more than a quarter of a million admissions to hospital for health problems that potentially could have been prevented. Yet each year the government spends at least $1 billion on planning, coordinating and reviewing chronic disease management and encouraging good practice in primary care.’