The impact of GPs as providers and coordinators of health care in the community is indicated in the figures from the 2004-5 financial year with 89 million GP attendances costing Australia 2.1 billion dollars. In that same year there were 3 million Practice Nurse and Allied Health services costing an additional 36 million dollars.
Historically, GPs were isolated, health services in the community were fragmented, there was a paucity of data on the health status of the community, and the evidence base of general practice was relatively undeveloped.
In 1993 the Australian Government established Divisions of General Practice as a mechanism for networking general practice. Divisions have a key role in managing change in general practice and are well placed to support research and embed evidence-based practice.
In the Evidence Gaps Reports of 2003 and 2005, 20 of the 23 identified gaps in evidence related directly to primary health care. An innovative model of service delivery addressing one of the identified evidence gaps and using an evidence-based model has been developed, implemented and evaluated and is an example of research benefiting the health of the community.
Shauna Gaebler has a broad range of experience in the health sector including general practice, and has a Masters Degree in Health Administration. Shauna is the Deputy CEO of Perth and Hills Division of General Practice, a WA Division with a catchment area spanning approximately 2,500km 2 that traverses the central business district, residential areas and outer suburban/semirural settings with, at the latest estimate, 310,383 residents.
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