by Michael Woodhead

The Federal government is to develop a National Primary Health Care Strategy and has chosen the head of GP divisions Dr Tony Hobbs to lead it.

Federal health minister Nicola Roxon said today that fundamental reform of primary care was long overdue and a new policy was needed to focus on multidisciplinary care.

She announced a group of health experts who will help develop a new strategy for primary care, with a brief to produce a draft report by mid 2009. Chaired by Dr Hobbs, the group includes the AMA’s chair of general practice, Dr Rod Pearce; RACGP president Dr Vasantha Preetham and GP academics Professor Claire Jackson and Prof Mark Harris.

Instead, Ms Roxon said there is a need for a thorough rethink of the fundamental design of primary care.

The health minister said her priorities for primary care include “addressing the growing need for access to other health professionals, including practice nurses  …encouraging a greater focus on multidisciplinary team-based care … and supporting the role GPs play in the health care team.”

The new primary care policy will be accompanied by a simplification of MBS primary care items that aims to cut red tape and give more support to prevention and management of chronic conditions, she said.

Relieving some of the burden from doctors 24 June 2008

"Any changes, whether it's through the super clinic strategy or through the Medicare schedule, I think we need to have a debate about how we relieve some of the burden from doctors," Ms Roxon told ABC Radio.

"We have a massive shortage of doctors.......Families cannot get in to see their GPs."

Ms Roxon admitted there was some argument going on over the policy.

Aussies living longer: report

BRENDAN TREMBATH: Australia's most reputable snapshot of health has just been released and it shows Australians enjoy one of the longest life expectancies in the world.

Australia is second only to Japan.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare publishes the report every two years, it also shows that smoking rates are continuing to fall, as well as the death rates for cancer and heart disease.

The Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon is using some of the report's findings to also press her case for practice nurses to take over some of the work done by GPs.

From Canberra, Sabra Lane reports.

SABRA LANE: Every two years Since 1988, The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has published a report on Australia's health.

It's something of a bible for health care workers and policy makers, they turn to the book and its findings in designing public health care policy.

This year it shows Australians have one of the longest life expectancies in the world, at just over 81 years, second only to Japan.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon released the report.

NICOLA ROXON: The report of course does highlight both good and bad we can take to heart that an Australian born between 2003 and 2005 can now expect to live 42 per cent longer than those that were born at the turn of the century.

For those of you who can't do your maths that quickly my staff have worked this out for me which is very helpful an extra 25 years of healthy living for most people.

And of course that is a staggering change. Other improvements are the declining rates of smoking, improved cancer survival rates and lower death rates from heart disease.

SABRA LANE: But, no gains have been made in closing the life expectancy gap between black and white Australians which stands at 17 years.

The report finds that Australians spend one in every $11 on their health, equally nine per cent of GDP.

And that less that two per cent of health spending actually goes towards Preventive measures.

NICOLA ROXON: The report also highlights the surprising fact that three quarters of deaths amongst people under 75 are largely avoidable and that almost one in 10 hospital separations are potentially preventable.

676,000 potentially preventable hospitalisations. Certainly if we can tackle some of these issues we know that many of the pressures in our health system will be majorly relieved.

SABRA LANE: Of most concern to the Health Minister Roxon, a nine per cent drop since 2005 in the number of primary care doctors - mainly GPs.

The Minister used these figures, to argue her case for allowing allied health professionals to take over some of the work that GPs do.

Ms Roxon also used the opportunity to attack the Australian Medical Association's chief Dr Rosanna Capolingua for saying that GPs are the most effective gatekeepers in primary care.

NICOLA ROXON: Something about it jarred with me and I realised that the use of the term gatekeeper is a very loaded one and I have to ask I wonder whether that term has really had its day.

I do ask in a time when families are struggling to see their GPs when people often end up in local hospitals because they can't get frontline care from their local doctor do we really need gatekeepers?

When GPs are over worked and under pressure from the escalating demands placed on them why do we ask them to spend their valuable time on paper work or doing things that they're over qualified to do. And the data released in the report today really I think does bolster this argument.

SABRA LANE: The Minister says the report will be used extensively during the next two years, as she works to re-design Australia's ailing health care system.

Govt promises strategy to tackle obesity