Comprehensive Analysis: Primary Health Care in Australia Report

This report provides an overview of Australia's primary health care system, focusing on its effectiveness and the challenges it faces. It examines the role of primary health care in addressing public health issues, with a particular emphasis on chronic conditions like cancer and heart disease. The report analyzes the services provided by general practitioners, community health centers, and the impact of government initiatives like Medicare. It also includes a Prisma flow chart to visualize the research methodology, discusses inclusion and exclusion criteria for studies, and presents key findings on the prevalence of chronic diseases and the need for innovative strategies to improve patient care. The discussion section highlights limitations, demographic changes, and the importance of population-based approaches and patient-centered care. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for continuous improvement in primary health care services to meet the evolving needs of the Australian population.

Public Health

Contents
ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................................3
Introduction..............................................................................................................................................3
Objectives.................................................................................................................................................3
Methods....................................................................................................................................................3
Prisma Flow Chart..................................................................................................................................4
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria.........................................................................................................5
Results......................................................................................................................................................7
Findings....................................................................................................................................................7
Discussion................................................................................................................................................8
Limitations and Conclusion.................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................10

ABSTRACT
This report is based on the primary health care of Australia and how are health
services provided to the patients. The main aim of this report is to understand the
effectiveness of primary healthcare in the nation. Secondary sources like online
websites and journals have been used to collect information for this report. The results
show that, cancer is one of the highest prevailing chronic conditions in Australia. It can
be concluded that effective strategies should be developed in order to make the system
strong.
Keywords – Public Health, Primary care, cancer
Introduction
Public Health is concerned with the health of the citizens living in a country and
improving the overall quality of their life through various informed and structured
methods. Various policies and plans are developed by the government of a nation in
order to promote public health and make people aware about its importance (Baum,
2016). On the other hand, primary health care refers to the day to day healthcare
services that are provided by the healthcare workers. The main objective of primary
healthcare is to provide constant acre to the patients. All primary health care centers
have a team of professionals that is specifically dedicated towards offering the best
possible health care services to the patients. In context to people, they get an access to
services related to health care that are advanced and can result in effective health
outputs.
Objectives
The main objective of this report is to understand the effectiveness of primary
health care in Australia.
Methods
Primary health comprises of various services that are majorly aimed at providing
effective services to the citizens of a nation. In Australia, Primary health care is basically
the entry level to the health system and an individual or patient’s first encounter with the
health system (Bernal, Cummins and Gasparrini, 2017). It includes various types of

activities and services that include promotion and prevention of any kind of health-
related issues. Some activities included in primary health care are hospital visits,
treatment of acute conditions as well as effective management of chronic diseases
(Primary health care in Australia, 2020). In Australia, these services are provided
through GPs or general practitioners, community health centers, consultations done
through video conferences etc. Every tear, the Australian government invests a
significant amount of money in providing primary care to the citizens. The services not
only target the health of the citizens but their lifestyle conditions as well. Also, various
studies that were conducted have also shown that nearly 83% people within Australia
consult a general practitioner or physician in a year.
Expenditure for primary health care comprises of benefit paid pharmaceuticals,
dental services, health of the community, public health and various other medications.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare produces information that is accessible in
the form of graphs and statistics. The information can be used to formulate effective
strategies while providing primary health care services to the people in the future. And
in order to release this information, data is collected through well structured methods.
Innovations in primary health care as well as in the use of technology have become
necessary. Australia has to basically focus on increasing the access of people to
primary care services as well as reducing the overall cost of treatment. Therefore, the
nation should innovate and develop strategies that can be used to enhance the overall
primary care of patients.
Prisma Flow Chart
Prisma is an acronym that stands for Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic
Reviews and Meta-Analyses. It can be described as a set of items that are used during
the reporting in meta-analyses and systematic reviews (Blue and et. al., 2016). The
flowchart basically focuses on the reporting of various reviews in evaluating trails that
are randomized. The main aim of this chart is to help the authors or researchers in
improving the reporting of various reviews. Cancer is one of the most prevalent chronic
diseases in Australia, that contribute to nearly contribute 61%of the burden of the

condition. Also, since a major percentage of the population is old, they are most prone
to the same.
It can be said that cancer is one of the leading causes of death in Australia. And
almost a total of 50,000 deaths were reported due to cancer last year. It can be said that
this chronic condition has impacted the overall health of the nation adversely. Although,
the government has taken various efforts and measures to eliminate and overcome the
situation, it still has to go a long way.
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
PICOS element Inclusion criteria Exclusion criteria
Population Adult patients of 18-year age
who admitted in hospital
newly or emergency
department with a diagnosis
of heart failure. Along with
this it also includes those
patients who get enrolled
while hospital stay or
discharge.
If patient is enrolled or selected
within: outpatient clinics, heart
failure clinics, primary care
practice, in the community as
well as enrolled from
administrative databases.
Intervention Quality improvement
strategies, here aim of
intervention is to reduce
quality gap for patients as it
includes care coordination,
targeting health systems,
targeting health care
providers and targeting
patients (Brownson and et.
al., 2017).
In exclusion criteria intervention
includes targeting both health
care providers as well as
patients.
Comparator Usual care control None
Outcomes Mortality (Primary), Hospital Adherence or compliance to the

length of stay, Clinician visits,
Appropriate use of HF
medications (compliance,
adherence) as well as Cost-
effectiveness
intervention or to guidelines
rather than HF medications.
Study design Randomized controlled trials
(RCTs); Cluster RCTs: An
experiment in which groups
of patients are randomly
allocated to two or more
interventions or a control
intervention or placebo
(Fleetwood, 2017).
Systematic review: A review
of a clearly formulated
question which uses
systematic and explicit
methods to identify, select,
critically appraise relevant
research; and collect as well
as analyse data from the
studies which are included in
the review. May or may not
use meta-analysis to analyse
and summarise the results
Quasi RCTs is non-randomized
methods of assignment;
Controlled before-after studies,
Interrupted time series,
Observational studies, Case
reports; Editorials or letters:
Narrative reviews, Basic science
or animal studies
Method and Design
Secondary sources like online articles, journals etc. are used to collect
information for this report. The information that is collected from secondary sources is
available readily and the researcher is not required to collect the data face to face from

the respondents (Finkler, Smith and Calabrese, 2018). All of the information that is
available can be tailored by the researcher as per the requirement of research. Some of
the information is also collected from the official website of the Australian government.
The website has all the information relating to public as well as primary health services
that are offered to the people in a proper and structured manner.
Primary health care services majorly target the common lifestyle of people and
their health conditions. Australia considers primary health care to be of utmost
importance and thus has made various efforts to improve the overall health in the
nation. Different kinds of services are delivered to the patients in different ways in order
to ensure that they are healthy and receive all the important services whenever there is
a need.
Results
In an article published by the Australian government, it was seen that there are
various chronic conditions that prevail in the nation (Fleetwood, 2017). Out of many
conditions, cancer and heart disease were the most prevalent in the country. Both of
them have had impact Australia in an adverse manner in the sense that a large number
of people have been seen who were impacted by the same, their health dropped due to
this. The results show that such chronic conditions in Australia contribute to nearly 37%
of the hospitalizations. Therefore, the government has taken various efforts to reach out
to as many people as possible and offer them primary health care services.
It is also noted that the public hospitals as well as community centers in Australia
provide effective services to the patients. The health workers ensure that all the primary
health needs of the patients as well as other citizens of the nation are up to the mark.
Medicare, which is an Australian government funded public insurance scheme is also
introduced in order to free treatment to the patients by the healthcare workers. In this
system, the patients get an access to general practitioners in bulk. So, they can reach
out to them whenever required. Therefore, all kinds of primary services like dental,
community health, benefit paid medications etc. are provided to the patients.

Findings
By analyzing the different articles on primary health of Australia, it was found that
cancer and heart diseases are those chronic decisions that majority of the patients in
the nation suffer from (Gostin and Wiley, 2016). Because many people/patients
including children fail to receive primary health care services, they develop chronic
diseases. This has created an impact on the nation as a whole and the overall immunity
of the nation has gone down. Therefore, it has become important for Australia to
leverage its services in the primary health care. Thereby, many effective strategies
should be developed by the government as well as health care centers to ensure that all
patients get an access to at least primary health services wherein they can connect with
their general practitioner or physician.
Using innovative technology will be beneficial and also, the process of making
decisions will be enhanced due to this. This will continue in playing an essential role in
changing the way how patients receive services relating to health care (National
Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018). And this will only be
possible if people get an access to the best practices in the sector. It was also found
that a large population of the nation is aging, which means that Australia’s need to
enhance and improve its health care services will also increase in the coming years.
Discussion
Respective report is about the primary health care services that are offered to the
patients by the health care professionals. The general practitioner or physician is the
foremost point of contact of patients in a healthcare setting. If Australia wants to
enhance its overall primary healthcare, it will have to bring in innovations. This will not
only improve the overall system in which services are offered to the patients, but also
contribute to the overall health of the patents. This is because they will get a chance to
understand the technology that is being introduced in the system (Sidney and et. al.,
2016). Population based approaches can also be used by the government. This way,
the government as well as the medical practitioners will be able to reach out as many
people as possible and provide them effective services.

Also, the treatment of patients will require the health practitioners to take into
consideration their cultural backgrounds, preferences, needs etc. This will help them in
providing effective treatment. And also, a bond of trust will develop between the
practitioners as well as the patients. Therefore, in the coming years, it will become very
important and equally necessary for the nation to implement innovation in its healthcare
system to ensure effective services relating to primary care are provided to the patients
without any compromise.
Limitations and Conclusion
There are many limitations that Australia can face in terms of providing primary
care services to the patients. Some of the major limitations that Australia might face can
include demographic changes, costs of the technology, funding for private as well as
public health care, challenges in the medical sector, increase in urbanization etc. Out of
these, demographic changes will pose as one of the most difficult limitations (Wilder-
Smith and et. al., 2017). This is because a considerable portion of the nation’s
population will be counted as elderly. And due to this, their medical needs might also
differ. Therefore, the government should take this into consideration and make efforts to
enhance the system.
Also, since technology is advancing with great pace the implementation costs of
the same will also increase. This can pose serious budgetary problems to the nation.
Therefore, from the above report, it can be concluded that primary care is one of the
most important components within the health care system of any nation. And to make it
strong, various efforts and strategies should be developed. In all of this, technology as
well as innovation will continue to play a major role. Thus, strategies that are developed
should be such that help in improving the overall health care system so that people get
an easy access to the physicians and general practitioners.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Baum, F., 2016. The new public health (No. Ed. 4). Oxford University Press.
Bernal, J. L., Cummins, S. and Gasparrini, A., 2017. Interrupted time series regression
for the evaluation of public health interventions: a tutorial. International journal of
epidemiology. 46(1). pp.348-355.
Blue, S. and et. al., 2016. Theories of practice and public health: understanding (un)
healthy practices. Critical Public Health. 26(1). pp.36-50.
Brownson, R. C. and et. al., 2017. Evidence-based public health. Oxford university
press.
Finkler, S. A., Smith, D. L. and Calabrese, T. D., 2018. Financial management for
public, health, and not-for-profit organizations. CQ Press.
Fleetwood, J., 2017. Public health, ethics, and autonomous vehicles. American journal
of public health. 107(4). pp.532-537.
Gostin, L. O. and Wiley, L. F., 2016. Public health law: power, duty, restraint. Univ of
California Press.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2018. Public health
consequences of e-cigarettes. National Academies Press.
Sidney, S. and et. al., 2016. Recent trends in cardiovascular mortality in the United
States and public health goals. JAMA cardiology. 1(5). pp.594-599.
Wilder-Smith, A. and et. al., 2017. Epidemic arboviral diseases: priorities for research
and public health. The Lancet infectious diseases. 17(3). pp.e101-e106.
Online
Primary health care in Australia. 2020. [Online]. Available through:<
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/primary-health-care/primary-health-care-in-
australia/contents/about-primary-health-care >.