The Impact of the Divisions
"The Divisions of General Practice are having a positive impact on primary care in Australia and it is a national disgrace how little is known about the impact of the Divisions of General Practice after 15 years of operation," says Dr Arn Sprogis, CEO of the Hunter Urban Division of General Practice.
In an editorial published in the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA), Dr Sprogis says there needs to be clearer leadership from Government for Divisions to achieve their full potential.
The Divisions are regional health care organisations owned and operated by their members, who are all general practitioners (GPs).
"Divisions are the greatest positive, underutilised organisational health resource in our nation and Government needs to establish clear goals, with targeted benchmarks that are open and transparent to all," says Dr Sprogis.
"My experience has been that individual Divisions and their peak bodies have been ready, willing and able to set and meet challenging targets."
A related study in the MJA looks at how the Divisions have impacted on primary health care between 2002-2004.
Professor Anthony Scott, Professorial Fellow at the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, and his colleague Dr Bill Coote, Director of Coote Pty Ltd, say their research showed that Divisions have had the most impact on general practice infrastructure such as information technology uptake.
Their research also showed that the Divisions had less influence in clinical areas. Professor Scott and Dr Coote note that most Divisions undertake locally developed programs not incorporated into their study.
The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.
The original articles can be viewed online at www.mja.com.au
CONTACT: Dr Bill Coote 0408 545 179 / 02 6248 0838
Dr Arn Sprogis 02 4929 2572 / 0412 082 259