KEY FINDINGS
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| All information in this publication refers to persons aged 45 years and over who had at least one general practitioner (GP) visit in the 12 months between November 2014 and November 2015. |
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This publication presents information from the Survey of Health Care, Australia, 2016, which forms part of the wider Coordination of Health Care study. The survey was funded by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) and conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The Survey of Health Care was conducted between April and June 2016. It collected data on respondents' experiences with health care professionals and the health care system, including:
- GPs
- usual GP and usual place of care
- specialist doctors
- medications, tests, x-rays and scans
- hospital emergency department (ED) visits
- hospital admissions
- health professionals
Patient experience information is valuable to users of health services and those aiming to improve the health system. Good patient experiences are one aspect of high quality health care. High quality health care leads to better health outcomes, and reduces barriers to accessing health services. The availability of GPs and other health services as well as coordinated health care are all important factors in ensuring an accessible, high quality health care system for all Australians.
At the national level, the results showed that in 2016:
GPs:
- Just over one in seven people (15%) saw a GP for their own health 12 or more times in the last 12 months. People aged 65 years and over were almost twice as likely to have seen a GP 12 or more times compared with those aged 45 to 64 years (21% compared with 11%).
- Around one in six people (17%) reported waiting longer than they felt acceptable to get their most recent GP appointment. Those aged 45 to 64 years were more likely to have reported waiting longer than they felt acceptable than those aged 65 years and over (20% compared with 12%).
Usual GP and usual place of care:
- Almost all people (98%) reported having a usual GP or a usual place of care.
- Of these,
- 65% reported that they had been going to their usual GP for five years or more.
- 88% reported that their usual GP or others in their usual place of care always or usually involved them in decisions about their health care.
- 88% reported that their usual GP or others in their usual place of care always or usually explained test results in a way that could be understood.
Specialist doctors:
- Over half (55%) of people saw a specialist doctor in the last 12 months.
- Of these,
- around one in five people (22%) reported waiting longer than they felt acceptable. This was more common for people aged 45 to 64 years (27%) than those aged 65 years and over (18%).
- 87% reported that their specialist doctor always had their medical information or test results available.
- 95% reported that their specialist doctor explained treatment choices in a way that could be understood.
- 76% reported that their usual GP or others in their usual place of care seemed informed about the care they received from a specialist doctor.
- Almost one in ten people (9 per cent) reported their usual GP or others in their usual place of care did not seem informed or did not know about the specialist care until the patient told them.
Medications, tests, x-rays and scans:
- 82% of people took at least one type of medication (including vitamins and pain killers) on a regular or ongoing basis.
- 71% of people had a test, x-ray or scan in the last 12 months. Of these, about nine in ten (89%) indicated that their results were always available at their scheduled health care appointment.
ED:
- One in six people (18%) reported having been to an ED for their own health in the last 12 months.
- Of these,
- 64% had been once.
- 32% had been at least twice.
- 62% felt their usual GP or others in their usual place of care seemed informed about their follow up needs or medication changes after their most recent ED.
- 19% reported that their usual GP or others in their usual place of care did not seem informed or did not know about their follow up needs or medication changes after their ED visit.
Hospital admissions:
- Nearly one in five people (22%) were admitted to hospital in the last 12 months.
- Of these,
- 32% were admitted to hospital more than once.
- 66% reported that their usual GP or others in their usual place of care seemed informed about their follow up needs or medication changes after their most recent hospital admission.
- 11% reported that their usual GP or others in their usual place of care did not seem informed of or did not know about their follow up needs or medication changes after their most recent hospital admission until the patient told them.
- 15% indicated that they had no further follow up needs or medication changes, or they did not see their usual GP or go to their usual place of care after their hospital admission.
Health professionals:
- Most people (92%) reported that they received enough information, or did not need information, about their care or treatment from a health professional. Those aged 65 years and over were more likely to report this than those aged 45 to 64 years (93% compared with 91%).
- The majority (91%) of people reported that they had a health professional who had a good understanding of their health, health care needs and preferences, or that they did not have any health care needs or preferences. Again, this was more commonly reported by those aged 65 years and over than those aged 45 to 64 years (93% compared with 90%).
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