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Savings that last
Grattan report finds millions in potential cost cuts from better management of chronic diseases.
Improving the management of heart disease, diabetes and other chronic conditions could save the Australian health system more than $ 320 million a year. That’ s the estimated cost of avoidable hospital admissions for the conditions, a report by the Grattan Institute stated.
“ Each year, there are more than a quarter of a million admissions to hospital for health problems that potentially could have been prevented,” the institute’ s professor Hal Swerissen said.
The report, Chronic Failure in Primary Care, found chronic conditions are ineffectively managed and an increasing burden on the Australian health system. Cardiovascular disease, oral health, mental disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, respiratory disease and diabetes account for about half of total disease costs.
Yet, at best, the primary care system provides only half the recommended care for many of them, the report stated.
For example, only a quarter of the nearly 1 million Australians diagnosed with type 2 diabetes get the monitoring and treatment recommended for their condition.
“ Yet each year the government spends at least $ 1 billion on planning, co-ordinating and reviewing chronic disease management and encouraging good practice in primary care,” Swerissen said.
Three-quarters of Australians over the age of 65 have at least one chronic condition that puts them at risk of serious complications and premature death. Social and environmental changes are the best way to prevent these diseases.
“ The role of GPs is vital but the focus must move away from fee-for-service payments for one-off visits,” Swerissen said.
A broader payment for integrated team care would help to focus care on patients and long-term outcomes, the report stated. Other suggested reforms included giving more responsibility to primary health networks for co-ordinating local primary care services and having a consistent approach to specific diseases. n
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