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Primary Health Care and Older People

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Ageing in Australia

Part of the book series: International Perspectives on Aging ((Int. Perspect. Aging,volume 16))

Abstract

This chapter examines the role of primary health care in the health of older people. As background to the chapter we discuss how primary health care operates in Australia, the workforce challenges and the recent policy reforms. Next we discuss primary health care use by older Australians and the types of services accessed. A main theme in the chapter is the lack of co-ordination between the health and aged care system in the delivery of primary health care services to older people, and the need for integrated care that addresses issues of multi-morbidity and multi-professional input to the care of older people. Addressing these issues through a skilled workforce, better communication between health professionals and a funding approach that does not disadvantage older multiple users of the primary health care system, will assist in the prevention of entry of older people into the more expensive secondary and tertiary health care and residential aged care systems.

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Acknowledgement

Britt H, Miller GC, Knox S, Charles J, Valenti L, Pan Y, Henderson J, Bayram C, O’Halloran J, Ng A 2004. General practice activity in Australia 2003–04. AIHW Cat. No. GEP 16. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (General Practice Series No. 16). Britt H, Miller GC, Henderson J, Bayram C, Harrison C, Valenti L, Wong C, Gordon J, Pollack AJ, Pan Y, Charles J. General practice activity in Australia 2013–14. General practice series no. 36. Sydney: Sydney University Press, 2014.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), University of New South Wales, Kensington, NSW, Australia

    Colette Browning

  2. Royal District Nursing Service Institute, 31 Alma Road, St Kilda, VIC, 3182, Australia

    Colette Browning

  3. International Institute for Primary Health Care Research, Shenzhen, China

    Colette Browning & Shane Thomas

  4. Peking University, Beijing, China

    Colette Browning & Shane Thomas

  5. College of Healthcare Sciences, James Cook University, QLD, 4811, Townsville, Australia

    Jenny Davis

  6. Primary Health Care Research, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3800, Australia

    Shane Thomas

Authors
  1. Colette Browning
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  2. Jenny Davis
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  3. Shane Thomas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colette Browning .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ageing, Work and Health Research Unit Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Sydney, Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia

    Kate O’Loughlin

  2. ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia

    Colette Browning

  3. ARC Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research (CEPAR), University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia

    Hal Kendig

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Browning, C., Davis, J., Thomas, S. (2017). Primary Health Care and Older People. In: O’Loughlin, K., Browning, C., Kendig, H. (eds) Ageing in Australia. International Perspectives on Aging, vol 16. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6466-6_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6466-6_13

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  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-6466-6

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