Medicare Locals
Latest Medicare Local News
Population Health Commissioning Atlas™
Healthfirst Network™ has developed a Population Health Commissioning Atlas™ (PHCAtlas™) for health planners, commissioners and decision makers, at regional or Medicare Local / Local Health Network level.
It provides an overview of population health care needs and sets out commissioning recommendations acting as a signpost to further and more in-depth study of identified priority areas. It is also peer reviewed by our team of international experts in population health. Read More....
Central Adelaide & Hills Medicare Local Established
The first South Australian metro Medicare Local, the Central Adelaide and Hills Medicare Local, was officially formed on the 30th September 2011. The Medicare Local was established as a separate not for profit Company Limited by Guarantee, with a primary focus on health service planning and commissioning of services for the resident population within the Medicare Local boundary which encompasses the CBD of Adelaide, the Western and Eastern suburbs and the Adelaide Hills to Callington. The Central Adelaide and Hills Medicare Local office has been established at ground level, 120 Hutt Street, Adelaide.
The Inaugural Board of nine members of the Medicare Local includes Prof Justin Beilby as Chair, three General Practitioners nominated by each of the three Divisions of General Practice; GP partners Adelaide, Adelaide Hills Division of General Practice and Adelaide Western GP Network. Government policy precluded a majority of any one health profession being appointed as Directors of the Board of the Medicare Local.
The organisation is currently in its very early formative stage and is relying upon executive level support from the Chief Executive Officers from the three Divisions of General Practice that nominated General Practitioners to the Board of the Medicare Local; Brenton Chappell (CEO Healthfirst Network), Kevin Wisdom-Hill (CEO Adelaide Hills Division) and Ian Dunn (CEO GP Partners Adelaide).
http://www.cahml.org.au/
Medicare Locals (Primary Health Care Organisations)
On Monday 6 June we received the news that Adelaide Western General Practice Network (now Healthfirst Network™) in partnership with the Adelaide Hills Division of General Practice and GPpartners Adelaide has won the right to form a Medicare Local that would take in the Adelaide Metro (western, central and eastern Adelaide) and the Adelaide Hills populations. For more details about this announcement please click here
The intended purpose of Medicare Locals is to improve access to services and achieve integration across general practice and primary care by coordinating services and working closely with Local Health Networks to identify and address local needs.
Medicare Locals will be required to reflect their local communities and health services in their governance, including consumers, doctors, nurses, allied health and State-funded community health providers.Medicare Locals will be able to increasingly focus on patient care in the primary care sector in contrast to the hospital sector. In doing this patients will be the ultimate beneficiaries achieving optimal care in the right environment.
Background to Medicare Locals
The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) reached an in principle agreement to establish a National Health and Hospitals Networks across Australia. One aspect of that agreement is the establishment of a national network of Primary Health Care Organisations, to be known as Medicare Locals (MLs). It is hoped that these organisations will play a central role in improving the integration of primary health care services with the acute and aged care sectors. They are also meant to improve patient access to services and providing support to all primary health care providers.
Medicare Locals are expected to evolve from, and take on the current activities of, existing Divisions of General Practice and may comprise individual Divisions or consortia, consisting of other Divisions or agencies. While the final number of MLs are being finalised, it is expected that the first group of about 15 Medicare Locals will become operational from mid 2011, with the remaining Medicare Locals becoming operational by either January 2012 or July 2012, at which time the Commonwealth will cease its direct funding of the Divisions of General Practice Network.
Medicare Locals will focus on five key strategic objectives:
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Identification of the health needs of local areas and development of locally focused and responsive services.;
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Improving the patient journey through developing integrated and coordinated services.;
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Providing support to clinicians and service providers to improve patient care.
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Facilitating of the implementation and successful performance of primary health care initiatives and programs.
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Being efficient and accountable with strong governance and effective management.
The SA government (SA Health) will create three Local Health Networks (LHNs) in the Adelaide Metropolitan region. There will be a Northern LHN (Modbury and Lyell McEwen Hospitals), a Central LHN (RAH and TQEH) and a Southern LHN (Flinders, RGH and Noarlunga Hospitals).
The boundaries of the Medicare Locals (MLs) will align with LHNs and with Local Government boundaries.
Healthfirst Network™, GPpartners Adelaide and the Adelaide Hills Division will work together to create the Central Adelaide and Hills ML.
For further information on Medicare Locals, Boundaries and other aspects of the Health Reform, please visit: www.yourhealth.gov.au
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Page updated 11/11
