Pharmacy Daily | Chronic condition reform

HEALTH minister Sussan Ley has confirmed a new trial program aiming to better treat patients with chronic illnesses. The proposal follows the release late yesterday of part of a report on the government’s healthcare review, which has suggested moving away from the current fee-for- service model under Medicare. Under the trial patients with multiple chronic illnesses will be able to nominate a GP practice as their so-called ‘Healthcare Home’ which would coordinate a tailored healthcare package. In a joint statement Ley and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it is “one of the biggest health system reforms since the introduction of Medicare 30 years ago”. Payments for GPs to coordinate the treatment packages would be made quarterly, “except where a routine health issue does not relate to [the patient’s] chronic illness”. An initial pilot program will involve up to 200 medical practices and as many as 65,000 patients, who currently see as many as five different GPs a year. “Seeing multiple GPs increases a patient’s risk of poor healthcare coordination and their likelihood of falling through the cracks and ending up in hospital,” the joint statement said. Details of the timing or cost of the program were not released.

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