As the Australian population grows and ages, severe strain will result on the current model of primary health care provision. This will further undermine an already struggling system. The bulk of the disease burden in Australia is accounted by chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, and dementia as well as many preventable life style diseases.
Particular emphasis is on the concept of preventative care, as well as negotiating the long term economic viability of early intervention, such as patient education in self management as opposed to short term fixes such as increasing beds and emergency rooms. This includes extending the role of nurses and allied health professionals and shifting the traditional primary health paradigms in favour of more flexibility in clinical service provision.
Scepticism exists over whether the costly plan can effectively take hold considering the challenges of a scarce workforce and issues regarding funding and a clash with existing community health services. Under this view, the GP Super clinics may undermine the existing frame work of services potentially compromising patient safety and quality of care. The specifics of how these clinics will operate, be funded and run are still somewhat ambiguous. Similar plans have been put through effectively in various countries around the world including the UK, Canada and Singapore.
The GP Super Clinic issue is set to become a major factor in the upcoming federal election. Informa s GP Super Clinics conference is the only event of its kind to concisely cover evolving trends in primary health care provision while at the same time providing a through and focused analysis of the GP Super Clinic concept. It will provide delegates with case studies, specialized reports and will cover the topic from a variety of angles and disciplines.
Topics include:
- Planning ahead for a growing and ageing population
- Understanding the need for super clinics
- The current challenges faced in primary health care
- The super clinic model and its potential as a solution
- Funding and finance of GP super clinics
- Maintaining and attracting the workforce
- Easing emergency room overload
- The importance of community acceptance
- Economic impact of public health
- Improving population health
- Rural health deficiencies
- Collaboration of multidisciplinary health providers
- Information technology in clinical service delivery
