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ReportWatch

General Practice activity in Australia 2004-05

This is the seventh annual report of the Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) program. Details of 95,300 encounters between GPs and patients are used to provide information on management actions (prescriptions, referrals, investigations) linked to particular problems.

There were approximately 94 million unreferred attendances, paid by Medicare (A1 and A2 items), at GP surgeries during 2004-05. Primary costs for these services were approximately $2 billion, while secondary costs generated from the services totalled over $4 billion.

The format for this report concentrates on the measurement of changes over time for each aspect of the data set. The report also examines changes in morbidity and management demonstrated over the last five to seven years. Appendices provide summaries of results for each of the past five years.

It is interesting to note that some of the characteristics of GPs in the BEACH studies have changed between 1998-99 and 2003-04. Some of these characteristics are:

• GPs are more likely to be female, and older
• GPs are more likely to work in practices where there are computers
• GPs are less likely to provide their own after hours services
• GPs are less likely to have graduated in Australia for their primary medical degree
• they are more likely to hold a Fellowship of the RACGP.
• There is a wealth of information in this detailed report on GP activity in Australia.

For further information contact:
The Australian General Practice Statistics and Classification Centre, University of Sydney
Ph: 02 9845 8151
E: gpstats@fmrc.org.au
Web: http://www.fmrc.org.au/publications/

Reference
Britt, H., Miller, G.C., Knox, S., Charles, J., Pan, Y., Henderson , J., Bayram, C., Valenti, L., Ng, A., O'Halloran, J. (2005). General Practice Activity in Australia 2004-05 . Canberra : Australian Institute of Health and Welfare General Practice Series No 18.