“The Australian Government is inviting you to contribute to the reform of the health system and delivering a Healthier Medicare.
One of the priority areas is better supporting people with chronic and complex health conditions, including mental health conditions, through primary health care.
This survey has been announced alongside the release of a Discussion Paper by the Primary Health Care Advisory Group, to examine options for health reform and provide a report to the Australian Government in late 2015. Your responses to this survey will inform the Primary Health Care Advisory Group and help determine how to best improve the primary health care system.”
Healthier Medicare
The Healthier Medicare initiative includes three priorities: the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce; the Primary Health Care Advisory Group (PHCAG) and a review of Medicare compliance rules.
The Australian Government wishes to work hand-in-hand with health professionals and patients to deliver a healthier Medicare to ensure Australians continue receiving the high-quality and appropriate care they need as efficiently as possible.
To that end, the Australian Government has developed the ‘Healthier Medicare’ initiative to review three priority areas:
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Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce
Led by Professor Bruce Robinson, Dean of the Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, the MBS Review Taskforce will consider how services can be aligned with contemporary clinical evidence and improve health outcomes for patients.
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Primary Health Care Advisory Group (PHCAG)
Led by the former Australian Medical Association President, and practising GP, Dr Steve Hambleton. The Advisory Group will investigate options to provide: better care for people with complex and chronic illness; innovative care and funding models; better recognition and treatment of mental health conditions; and greater connection between primary health care and hospital care.
The Advisory Group is undertaking a comprehensive national consultation process to hear the views and experiences of people living with chronic and complex conditions, and people engaged in the care and management of these patients, across the health system. This will inform the advice that the Advisory Group will provide to Government in late 2015.
The Public Information Briefing timetable and supporting resources including the Discussion Paper, Consumer document, Background Document and Online Survey can be found in the PHCAG section of this website.
The Australian Government is inviting you to contribute to the reform of the health system and delivering a Healthier Medicare.
One of the priority areas is better supporting people with chronic and complex health conditions, including mental health conditions, through primary health care.
This survey has been announced alongside the release of a Discussion Paper by the Primary Health Care Advisory Group, to examine options for health reform and provide a report to the Australian Government in late 2015. Your responses to this survey will inform the Primary Health Care Advisory Group and help determine how to best improve the primary health care system.
Additional information on Healthier Medicare, the Primary Health Care Advisory Group and this survey are available via the Department of Health website.
Thank you for taking time to participate in this important opportunity to shape Australia’s future health system.
This survey is hosted by ORC International, an independent research company. In the course of this research, ORC International will store data in Australia and the United States on secure servers that comply with Australian Privacy Law.
At any time during the survey, you may select to save your responses to return to at a later time. To do this, click the ‘Save to return later’ button located towards the bottom left of the page. You will be asked to provide an email address, to which a return link will be sent.
Throughout the survey, blue font indicates that a definition is provided. Hover over a phrase in blue to display its definition.
Where comments are requested, please limit each of your responses to 2250 characters or less (approximately 300 words). However, up to 3750 characters (approximately 500 words) can be entered in the final question which provides you with an opportunity to add any additional comments you may have.
For any questions about the hosting of this survey, please email PHCAG_Consult@orc-surveys.com.
Formal feedback should be provided via the Online Survey which will be open from Thursday 6 August to Thursday 3 September.
3.Medicare compliance rules and benchmarks
The Government will also work with clinical leaders, medical organisations and patient representatives to develop clearer Medicare compliance rules and benchmarks. The use of new techniques such as analytics and behavioural economics will provide more information to clinicians to enable them to better manage appropriate practices. As well, more information will be available to patients about fees charged by health professionals so they can make informed choices about their health care.
For further information, please refer to these two media releases:
Abbott Government to deliver a healthier Medicare – 22 April 2015Establishment of expert groups to shape a healthier Medicare – 4 June 2015