Closing the Gap - The Indigenous Chronic Disease Package in 2009-10 - Annual Progress Report on the Australian Government’s contribution to the National Partnership Agreement on Closing the Gap in Indigenous Health Outcomes - November 2010
Improving Chronic Disease Management
Improving the detection and treatment of chronic disease and addressing barriers to accessing health care by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a central focus of the Package. New initiatives are assisting primary health care services to provide better health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, with a focus on earlier detection and treatment of chronic disease and associated risk factors.
2009-10 activity overview and key achievements
In 2009-10, significant work was done to address the barriers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face in accessing primary health care, to get more people to see their health care providers.Supporting primary care providers
An important milestone for the Package was the introduction of the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Indigenous Health Incentive in May 2010. This new payment supports accredited general practices and Indigenous health services to provide more comprehensive and coordinated care to their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. It also encourages mainstream services to make their practices more culturally appropriate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, helping to address one of the major barriers to better health care.Health services and general practices participating in this program will also be able to refer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients needing more complex chronic disease management to the new Care Coordination and Supplementary Services Program which will come on-line progressively from late 2010.
Next Steps: Looking forward to 2010-11
The cost of medicines is a key barrier to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people properly managing chronic disease and risk factors. To help with this, changes to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) were introduced on 1 July 2010. These will allow many more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to access more affordable – and in some instances free – PBS medicines.In 2010-11, promotional activities will be implemented to increase the uptake of specific Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items which provide appropriate early intervention to prevent, or delay the onset of chronic disease; help with early diagnosis; and provide a path into ongoing management of existing chronic diseases. Substantial planning was undertaken in 2009-10 to develop new chronic disease self management programs. In 2010-11, up to 100 existing health workers will be trained to deliver chronic disease self management sessions, assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples receive the support they need to manage their chronic conditions more successfully.
Supporting comprehensive care
Primary health care services across Australia are rapidly discovering the benefits of the new Practice Incentives Program (PIP) Indigenous Health Incentive.The South West Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS), based in Bunbury, Western Australia, is one of the organisations already taking advantage of this program.
Quenten Jackson, Health Service Manager at the service, has been involved in Aboriginal health for more than 30 years and is excited about the benefits this new program presents for both the service and its clients.
“The PIP will provide enormous benefits to our organisation because, apart from providing that continuity of care to our Aboriginal patients, the income derived from those payments will actually go towards subsidising many of the other things that we do for our Aboriginal patients at SWAMS, for example transport and health aids.
The incentive for us now is to move forward with our dream of providing a comprehensive health service and increasing and enhancing the continuity of care.”