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Patients are generally happy with the concept of primary care teams -- but they expect GPs to play a dominant role.
AQUIET revolution has been taking place in Australian general practice in recent years, with the steady march towards GPs providing care as part of primary care teams --but have patients signed up to the cause?
It seems they are well on the road to conversion -- as long as the GP remains central to their care -- according to a survey of almost 1300 patients commissioned by Australian Doctor and Pfizer Australia.
Patients were asked how they felt about a move to primary care teams with, for example, GPs, nurses, physiotherapists, dietitians, psychologists and podiatrists working in partnership to care for them.
Almost half (47%) support the team model, saying it will result in better co-ordinated care, with young patients the most enthusiastic about the change, the survey shows.
One-third of respondents say their attitude to primary care teams depends on what health problem they are seeking treatment for, while 13% remain unclear about how they feel about the shift.
Only 7% view the move towards team care as a negative development, saying they'd rather have one health professional look after all areas of their health. Older patients are the most concerned about the change, with 15% of those aged 71-80 and 20% of those over 80 describing the move to team care as negative.
Team or no team, patients clearly want the GP to remain central to their care, the survey reveals.
Almost three in five patients say the GP should be the first port of call within a primary care team, referring on to other carers. A further 19% want the GP as team leader, co-ordinating patients' movement around the team.
The GP should be a team member, seeing patients if necessary, say 17% of patients, while just 2% believe the doctor should be the last port of call -- to provide scripts and referrals -- after the patient has seen other care providers.
The findings come as no surprise to Brisbane GP Dr Ian Williams, whose practice abandoned plans to take part in a trial of nurse-led clinics for asthma, diabetes and cardiovascular disease care about 18 months ago due...