Use of health services Seen a general practitioner (GP) or specialist in last 12 months (86%); people with one or more selected chronic conditions (93%), people with none (79%); disability or restrictive long-term health condition (94%), no disability (83%); with a non-school qualification (90%), no non-school qualification (82%) Needed to see a GP in last 12 months but had not gone to one on at least one occasion (13%); most common reasons for not going too busy (33%), decided to not seek care (28%) Living in remote area usually saw GP part of an Aboriginal Medical Service (68%), in non-remote areas (29%) Seen a dentist or dental professional in last 12 months (44%); children (57%), adults (36%); with a non-school qualification (41%), none (34%) Admitted to hospital in last 12 months (17%); one or more selected chronic conditions (24%), none (11%); disability or restrictive long-term health condition (27%), no disability (13%)
Source: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples/national-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-health-survey/latest-release Accessed 13th August 2021
What do we know about patient experiences in Australia Patient Experience Survey, is a topic on the Multipurpose Household Survey (MPHS) conducted throughout Australia from July 2019 to June 2020. Survey collected information from people about their experiences with selected aspects of the health system in the 12 months before their interview, including access and barriers to a range of health care services. Respondents were asked about their experiences with medical professionals, the frequency of their visits, waiting times, and barriers to accessing care, as well as their self-assessed health status, long term health conditions and private insurance. Data was also collected on aspects of communication between patients and health professionals. Response rate for the 2019-20 survey was 76.4%.
Potential impacts of COVID-19 The 2019-20 Patient Experience Survey did not explicitly ask about the impacts of COVID-19. However, it is possible that COVID-19 may have contributed to an increase in the proportion of people who delayed or did not use health services when needed compared to 2018-19: dental professionals (30.4% vs 28.2%); GPs (25.7% vs 22.8%); medical specialists (19.9% vs 17.4%)
Health service use in 2019-20
Females were more likely than males to:
saw a GP (83.2%) had a pathology test (58.1%) saw a dental professional (49.5%) had an imaging test (38.3%) saw a medical specialist (36.0%) visited a hospital (ED) (14.4%) were admitted to hospital (12.5%) saw a GP for urgent medical care (8.3%) saw an after hours GP (7.1%)
see a GP (87.7% vs 78.6%) have a pathology test (64.9% vs 51.2%) see a dental professional (52.9% vs 46.0%) have an imaging test (44.0% vs 32.5%) see a medical specialist (39.0% vs 33.0%) visit a hospital ED (15.3% vs 13.4%) be admitted to hospital (14.1% vs 10.7%) see a GP for urgent medical care (9.2% vs 7.3%) see an after hours GP (8.2% vs 6.0%)
People aged 85 years and over were more likely than those aged 15-24 years to: see a GP (98.3% vs 70.9%) have a pathology test (80.1% vs 33.9%) see a medical specialist (58.9% vs 20.3%) have an imaging test (51.9% vs 26.0%) be admitted to hospital (27.5% vs 6.8%) visit a hospital ED (24.3% vs 14.6%) see a GP for urgent medical care (10.6% vs 7.1%)
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Living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas more positive experiences with hospital ED doctors and specialists than major cities: always listened to carefully (75.0% vs 68.0%), always shown respect (79.4% vs 73.2%), always had enough time spent with them (73.5% vs 65.6%)
People with a long-term health condition were more likely than those without a long-term health condition to: see a GP (94.5% vs 71.5%) have a pathology test (75.3% vs 40.3%) see a medical specialist (53.0% vs 18.4%) see a dental professional (52.4% vs 46.5%) have an imaging test (51.5% vs 24.6%) visit a hospital ED (19.5% vs 9.1%) be admitted to hospital (18.4% vs 6.3%) see a GP for urgent medical care (12.2% vs 4.3%) see an after hours GP (9.0% vs 5.1%)
HNA 2022-25
