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The Australian Government Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan 2022 - 2032
By Danny Haydon, Principal/Health Division
1 November 2021
(The Plan) Consultation Draft closed on the 9 November 2021.
This document lays the foundation for much-needed reform of the Primary Health Care System. If adopted by the Australian Government, it will aim to deliver a more integrated, patient-centred, equitable, less fragmented and contemporary system.
Embedded in this plan is a commitment that the Australian Government has already made, announced in the 2021 Budget, to implement the MyGP Voluntary Patient Registration (VPR) scheme as the "building block" for reform.
What is Voluntary Patient Registration (VPR)?
The purpose of VPR is to improve continuity of care by strengthening the relationship between individuals, families, and carers have with their chosen primary health care provider and practice.
Every Australian will be able to voluntarily register with their chosen practice and general practitioner, as long as the practice is accredited against the RACGP Standards for General Practice. The registration formalises this relationship, creating a single health care reference point that can focus the coordination and delivery of integrated care in the future.
What will it enable?
In the first instance, VPR will enable patients to continue to access Telehealth services from the practice they have registered with once the current temporary COVID-19 Telehealth services cease.
Telehealth has proven to be popular for both patients and providers, improving patient access and flexibility for how care is delivered. GPs are also being remunerated for the care they have been previously provided but was not funded by Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS).
VPR will support the ongoing delivery of telehealth services post the COVD-19 pandemic by limiting these services to patients who are registered with a specific practice. The Plan also indicates that in future, access to MBS services for chronic disease management, health assessments and medication reviews will also be linked to VPR, protecting these services from otherwise being inappropriately claimed.
How will VPR work?
The process for VPR is expected to be managed through the Health Provider Online Service (HPOS), building on the system used for registering patients for the Indigenous Health Incentive and Health Care Homes. While the specific details are not public, it is understood that a patient can only register with one practice at a time. A patient will subsequently be able to change their registration to another practice at any time.
One of the practical challenges for practices highlighted through the Health Care Homes trial was identifying registered patients in the Practice Management software. It will be crucial for patient software providers that their software identifies registered patients within the medical record, appointment booking and patient registration functions.
The VPR system will commence in July 2022.
