Report on Government Services 2017
Volume E, Chapter 10
Primary and community health
This chapter reports on the performance of primary and community health services, which include general practice, pharmaceutical services, dentistry, allied health services, maternal and child health, alcohol and other drug treatment and other services.
Download the chapter
- Chapter 10 Primary and community health and attachment tables (PDF - 3520 Kb)
- Chapter 10 Attachment tables (XLSX - 1189 Kb)
- Key Facts
- Indicator Framework
- Indicator Results
- Indigenous Data
Total expenditure by all governments on primary and community health was around $29.9 billion in 2014-15.
Australian Government total recurrent expenditure on general practice in Australia was $8.7 billion or $365 per person in 2015‑16.
Australian Government expenditure on the PBS was around $8.3 billion, or $332 per person, in 2015-16.
Primary and community health services aim to promote health and prevent illness, and to manage illness and injury effectively in the community, by providing universal access to primary healthcare that is:
- timely, affordable and accessible
- appropriate and responsive to meet the needs of individuals throughout their lifespan and communities
- high quality and safe
- well co-ordinated to ensure continuity of care where more than one service type, and/or ongoing service provision is required
- sustainable in terms of workforce, infrastructure, innovation and capacity to respond to emerging needs.
Governments aim for primary and community health services to meet these objectives in an equitable and efficient manner.
The performance indicator framework provides information on equity, efficiency and effectiveness, and distinguishes the outputs and outcomes of health services. The performance indicator framework shows which data are complete and comparable in the 2017 Report.
An overview of the Primary and community health performance indicator results are presented. Information to assist the interpretation of these data can be found in the indicator interpretation boxes in the Primary and community health chapter and attachment tables.
Equity — Access indicators
Availability of PBS medicines
PBS prescriptions filled at concessional rate, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 91.8 | 92.2 | 91.6 | 89.0 | 93.1 | 93.7 | 83.7 | 81.0 | 91.7 |
Equity of access to GPs
Availability of FSE GPs per 100 000 people, by region, 2015-16 (number)
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Major cities | 101.8 | 98.6 | 107.3 | 84.5 | 103.5 | .. | 73.9 | .. | 99.4 |
Outer regional, remote and very remote areas | np | np | 90.7 | 70.2 | 76.4 | 74.8 | .. | 48.7 | 83.5 |
Availability of GPs by sex, 2015-16
FSE Female GPs per 100 000 females
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
no. | 73.4 | 69.4 | 73.2 | 57.4 | 63.1 | 71.2 | 62.6 | 66.8 | 69.6 |
FSE Male GPs per 100 000 males
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
no. | 125.6 | 126.5 | 132.8 | 105.1 | 137.4 | 106.7 | 82.6 | 84.7 | 124.3 |
Availability of public dentists
FTE Dentists by region, per 100 000 people, 2014 (number)
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Major cities | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 8.6 | .. | 7.0 | .. | 6.6 |
Remote and very remote | np | – | 10.8 | 6.5 | 3.3 | np | .. | 9.6 | 7.9 |
Early detection and early treatment for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians
Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians who received a health assessment, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 33.6 | 22.2 | 43.0 | 36.8 | 24.4 | 21.5 | 30.2 | 42.7 | 35.5 |
Effectiveness — Access indicators
Effectiveness of access to GPs
Bulk billing rates, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 88.9 | 84.9 | 85.0 | 80.7 | 84.0 | 77.4 | 60.3 | 89.1 | 85.4 |
People deferring visits to GPs due to financial barriers, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 3.5 ± 0.8 | 3.8 ± 0.7 | 4.8 ± 0.7 | 4.9 ± 1.0 | 3.9 ± 0.9 | 6.1 ± 1.0 | 8.1 ± 1.0 | 2.0 ± 0.9 | 4.1 ± 0.4 |
GP waiting times for urgent appointment, 2015-16 — less than 4 hours
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 66.2 ± 4.6 | 61.1 ± 7.0 | 65.1 ± 5.0 | 63.2 ± 6.2 | 65.6 ± 6.9 | 55.4 ± 0.7 | 40.4 ± 13.3 | 89.5 ± 8.6 | 63.6 ± 3.3 |
Financial barriers to PBS medicines
People deferring treatment due to financial barriers, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 7.4 ± 1.0 | 7.2 ± 0.9 | 8.4 ± 1.0 | 7.5 ± 1.5 | 7.7 ± 1.1 | 6.9 ± 1.4 | 7.8 ± 1.8 | 4.3 ± 1.5 | 7.6 ± 0.5 |
Public dentistry waiting times
Median time waited for public dental care, 2015-16
Effectiveness — Appropriateness indicators
Chronic disease management
Uptake by Practices in the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) of the PIP Diabetes Incentive, May 2016
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 57.4 | 50.1 | 62.7 | 57.3 | 42.8 | 44.5 | 61.4 | 84.5 | 55.8 |
Effectiveness — Quality — Safety indicators
GPs with vocational registration
GPs with vocational registration, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 82.7 | 77.1 | 79.2 | 80.8 | 81.0 | 80.0 | 86.5 | 61.2 | 80.1 |
Source: Attachment tables 10A.50
Electronic health information systems
General practices using electronic systems, May 2016
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 90.5 | 92.3 | 90.2 | 88.9 | 91.6 | 89.1 | 87.1 | 91.4 | 91.0 |
Effectiveness — Quality — Responsiveness indicators
Patient satisfaction
Proportion of people who saw a GP in the previous 12 months where the practitioner always or often listened carefully to them, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 91.2 ± 0.7 | 91.5 ± 0.8 | 91.9 ± 0.3 | 92.9 ± 0.8 | 91.9 ± 0.9 | 92.0 ± 1.5 | 90.1 ± 1.9 | 87.6 ± 2.9 | 91.6 ± 0.4 |
Proportion of people who saw a dental practitioner in the previous 12 months where the practitioner always or often listened carefully to them, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 96.7 ± 1.1 | 94.6 ± 1.1 | 96.1 ± 1.4 | 96.1 ± 1.9 | 96.6 ± 0.5 | 96.0 ± 1.6 | 95.6 ± 1.7 | 94.7 ± 2.0 | 95.5 ± 0.6 |
Effectiveness — Quality — Continuity indicators
Continuity of chronic disease management
Proportion of GPs who used the MBS chronic disease management items for care planning or case conferencing at least once during a 12 month period, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 97.7 | 97.5 | 96.4 | 96.5 | 97.3 | 98.4 | 95.6 | 94.5 | 97.2 |
Efficiency indicators
Cost to government of general practice per person
Expenditure per person on general practice, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
$ | 378.1 | 362.9 | 386.0 | 301.1 | 380.1 | 362.8 | 270.2 | 328.2 | 365.0 |
Outcome indicators
Child immunisation coverage
Children aged 60 to 63 months who were fully immunised, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 93.4 | 93.3 | 92.7 | 91.3 | 92.3 | 93.8 | 93.5 | 91.9 | 92.9 |
Notifications of selected childhood diseases
Notifications of measles per 100 000 children aged 0–14 years, 2015-16
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
no. | np | 1.0 | np | – | 1.7 | – | – | – | 0.5 |
Participation for women in breast cancer screening
Participation for women aged 50–74 years in breast cancer screening, 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2015 (ASR)
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 50.6 | 52.2 | 56.6 | 54.8 | 57.6 | 56.7 | 54.4 | 35.8 | 53.2 |
Participation for women in cervical screening
Participation for women aged 20–69 years in cervical screening, 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2015 (ASR)
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | 55.8 | 59.9 | 54.8 | 56.1 | 58.9 | 57.3 | 56.2 | 54.3 | 56.9 |
Selected potentially preventable hospitalisations
Separations for selected potentially preventable hospitalisations for vaccine-preventable, acute and chronic conditions, 2014-15, per 1000 people
NSW | Vic | Qld | WA | SA | Tas | ACT | NT | Aust | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
no. | 22.7 | 23.9 | 29.8 | 24.3 | 26.6 | 22.5 | 19.0 | 50.2 | 25.2 |
Notes
These data and caveats for these data are available in chapter 10 and attachment 10A.
Some percentages reported in these tables include 95 per cent confidence intervals (for example, 80 per cent ± 2.7 per cent).
.. Not applicable. – Nil or rounded to zero. np Not published.
Performance indicator data for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this chapter are available in the attachment tables listed below. Contextual data and further supporting information can be found in the chapter.
Table number | Table title |
---|---|
Table 10A.18 | Approved providers of PBS medicines by PhARIA area as at 30 June 2016 |
Table 10A.27 | Annual health assessments for older people by Indigenous status (per cent) |
Table 10A.28 | Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who received an annual health assessment (per cent) |
Table 10A.29 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who received a health check or assessment, by age (per cent) |
Table 10A.31 | Proportion of children receiving a fourth year developmental health check, by type of health check (per cent) |
Table 10A.35 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people deferring access to GPs due to cost, 2012-13 (per cent) |
Table 10A.40 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people deferring access to prescribed medication due to cost, 2012-13 (per cent) |
Table 10A.41 | Waiting time for public dental care, NSW (days) |
Table 10A.42 | Waiting time for public dental care, Victoria (days) |
Table 10A.43 | Waiting time for public dental care, Queensland (days) |
Table 10A.44 | Waiting time for public dental care, WA (days) |
Table 10A.45 | Waiting time for public dental care, SA (days) |
Table 10A.46 | Waiting time for public dental care, Tasmania (days) |
Table 10A.47 | Waiting time for public dental care, ACT (days) |
Table 10A.48 | Waiting time for public dental care, NT (days) |
Table 10A.57 | Proportion of people with asthma with a written asthma plan, by Indigenous status, by age, 2011–13 |
Table 10A.58 | Proportion of people with asthma with a written asthma plan, by Indigenous status |
Table 10A.66 | Client experience of GPs by remoteness, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Australia, 2012-13 |
Table 10A.77 | Participation rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women screened by BreastScreen Australia (24 month period) (first and subsequent rounds) (per cent) |
Table 10A.81 | Cervical screening rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women aged 20 to 69 years, who reported having a Pap smear at least every 2 years (per cent) |
Table 10A.83 | Proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years or over who were fully vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcal disease |
Table 10A.85 | Separations for selected potentially preventable hospitalisations by Indigenous status (per 1000 people) |
Table 10A.87 | Separations for selected potentially preventable hospitalisations by Indigenous status and remoteness, Australia (per 1000 people) |
Table 10A.88 | Separations for selected vaccine preventable conditions by Indigenous status, 2014-15 (per 1000 people) |
Table 10A.89 | Separations for selected acute conditions by Indigenous status, 2014-15 (per 1000 people) |
Table 10A.90 | Separations for selected chronic conditions by Indigenous status, 2014-15 (per 1000 people) |
Table 10A.91 | Ratio of separations for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to all Australians, diabetes, 2014-15 |