The story of General Practice in numbers

Carl’s Corner – Reflections of a Clinical Lead, Gold Coast Primary Health Network

The story of General Practice in numbers

In September, two important reports were published that provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of General Practice in Australia: The RACGP published its third annual Health of the Nation Report that provided a unique overview of the general practice sector, but with a special focus on ‘GP self-care and wellbeing’; and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare published a report with the meaty title: ‘Medicare-subsidised GP, allied health and specialist health care across local areas: 2013-14 to 2017-18’.

I would like to share a few of the numbers that stood out for me:

• There are approximately 37,000 GPs practicing across Australia;
• 9 in 10 Australians consulted a GP in the last twelve months;
• GPs see an average of 94 patients a week and spend an average of 17 minutes per consultation;
• A quarter of all Australians accessed Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) through their GPs;
• Patients talk with GPs about all of their biopsychosocial concerns, including mental health issues (65%);
• Most patients have a very positive view of the care they receive in general practice;
• GPs provided more than 600 services per 100 people per year, with associated paid Medicare benefits of approximately $350 per patient;
• General practice represents only 7.4% of total government health expenditure and has been increasing at much lower rate than public hospital services;

The numbers tell a convincing story of the relative importance of general practice as the bedrock of our health care system. They also provide quantitative evidence for what most of us already know – that general practice punches above its weight and provides exceptional value for politicians and patients.

Dr Carl de Wet
GP
Clinical Lead, Gold Coast Primary Health Network