David Butt, CEO AGPN
“Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine”.1 Many a true word said in jest, or so they say. Slot machines aside, change is a fact of life. And as the theories of Darwin and others attest, our ability to adapt to change, to evolve, is what makes us strong - individually and collectively.
Australia’s general practice networks, along with their supporting state and national agencies, have been adapting to change since their inception. The Network’s ability to respond this way and to tailor its responses to the diverse needs of local communities across Australia is one of its greatest strengths.
More substantive change is afoot though. Health reform at the systems level is on its way, and like our evolutionary precursor, it may well come with a big bang.
What will this mean? It will certainly mean a stronger (and welcomed) focus on primary health care (PHC). For general practice networks it means the potential opportunity to evolve to primary health care networks.
Likely developments include more community engagement, expanded membership and broader, more skills-based governance. There will be a retained focus on general practice with additional support to allied health. PHC will be truly “comprehensive” requiring greater population health planning and data monitoring as well as greater budget management, health service development/delivery and workforce development and support. Over time, there may be fewer but larger regional enterprises as part of a wider structural change.
Some general practice networks already operate like this, but future evolution could well make this more widespread. What precisely this looks like may be clearer when current health reform reports are made public – but one thing is certain: the Network will be different – the inevitability of evolution means that no change is not an option.
<www.agpn.com.au>
Reference
1. Robert C. Gallagher. American author
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