Delegation to practice nurses may be the main reason for an increase in Level A consultations
In their analysis of Medicare claims data for general practice consultations published in this issue of the Journal, Taylor and colleagues report a recent decline in Level C and D (long) consultations and an increase in Level A (short) consultations — a pattern they consider to be “at odds with health policy objectives that rely on long consultations to provide preventive care and chronic disease management”.1 They hypothesise that the increased use of Level A consultations may reflect:
The full article is accessible to AMA members and paid subscribers. Login to read more or purchase a subscription now.
Please note: institutional and Research4Life access to the MJA is now provided through Wiley Online Library.
- 1. Taylor MJ, Horey D, Livingstone C, Swerissen H. Decline with a capital D: long-term changes in general practice consultation patterns across Australia. Med J Aust 2010; 193: 80-83.
- 2. Britt H, Miller GC, Charles J, et al. General practice activity in Australia 2008–09. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009. (General Practice Series No. 25; AIHW Cat. No. GEP 25.) http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/11013 (accessed Jun 2010).
- 3. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Medicare Benefits Schedule book. Canberra: DoHA, 2004. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/mbsonline/publishing.nsf/Content/7B8C8DCCFD5FCF3FCA2574F8007327A3/$File/2004-11-MBS.pdf (accessed Jun 2010).
- 4. Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing. Historical publications, Medicare statistics — March quarter 2006. Canberra: DoHA, 2006. http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/medstat-mar06-strength (accessed Jun 2010).
- 5. Britt H, Miller GC, Charles J, et al. General practice activity in Australia 1999–00 to 2008–09: 10 year data tables. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009. (General practice series no. 26; AIHW Cat. No. GEP 26.) http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/gep/gep-26-11014/gep-26-11014.pdf (accessed Jun 2010).
- 6. Britt H, Miller GC, Knox S, et al. 2004. General practice activity in Australia 2003–04. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2004. (General Practice Series No. 16; AIHW Cat. No. GEP 16.) http://www.aihw.gov.au/publications/index.cfm/title/10079 (accessed Jun 2010).
- 7. Australian Government. Medicare Australia. National Health and Hospitals Network—workforce—support for practice nurses. http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/provider/budget-2010/nurses.jsp (accessed Jun 2010).
During the data collection years reported here, the BEACH program was funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the National Prescribing Service Ltd, AstraZeneca Pty Ltd (Australia), Roche Products Pty Ltd, Janssen-Cilag Pty Ltd, Merck Sharp and Dohme (Australia) Pty Ltd, Pfizer Australia, Sanofi-Aventis Australia Pty Ltd, Abbott Australasia, Wyeth Australia Pty Ltd, Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the Office of the Australian Safety and Compensation Council (Department of Employment and Workplace Relations).
The pharmaceutical companies listed above have or have had research agreements with the University of Sydney. Funding organisations have no influence on the BEACH program and have had no input into the planning, analyses for, or preparation of this article.