A HEALTH organisation head has called for a focus on chronic disease patients after national data suggested patients were attending emergency departments instead of their GPs.
South Eastern Melbourne Medical Local chairman Nicholas Demediuk said there was a need for more co-ordinated care to save the health system budget and keep patients healthy and out of hospitals.
Dr Demediuk said there was a need to focus on management of chronic disease, persistent pain and mental health in Melbourne’s south-east.
According to a recent National Health Performance Authority report, the highest rate of GP visitors were in similar low-urban-density and lower socioeconomic status regions such as south-east Melbourne.
In Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia, about 21 per cent of people visited GPs more than 12 times a year.
“The report findings show that people who see GPs more frequently often have multiple long-term problems and need high quality, co-ordinated primary and hospital care,” Dr Demediuk said.
“The more time a person visits the GP, the more they are higher users of other health services.”
Patient GP bypass
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