Medicare statistics – year-to-date dashboard (July to September 2023-24)

This article from NewsGP refers to a new ABS analysis of patient experiences, which reveals that the number of people who are delaying or avoiding seeing a GP due to cost, has doubled since last year. The article discusses price perceptions, cost-of-living pressures, practice viability in disadvantaged areas, fragmented care and the widening gap between health outcomes and access to services.

This in-depth and well-referenced article from MJA Insight talks about the 'General Practitioners with a Special Interest' program, whereby GPs can work across community and hospital settings. This model, which originated in the UK, can benefit practitioners, hospitals, health services and patients alike, by strengthening collaboration and continuity of care, reducing waitlists, and improving discharge rates in hospitals.

This article provides a good summary of an article published in The Australian: Staffing reforms trigger surge in aged care shutdowns. It refers to a model created by a coalition of academics from the University of Melbourne, University of the Sunshine Coast and Monash University, which shows the nation is on track to experience deep workforce shortages in the aged care sector, as more aged care facilities close down and government nursing reforms place extra strain on the sector.

This article, from the Sydney Morning Herald, looks at the nationwide shortage of pathologists and how this might be delaying pathology test results for patients. Workforce supply and workload could be improved by increasing the Medicare rebate for pathology services, by increasing funded Pathology training programs, and by adopting new technologies.