ID-5184 Wonca Abstracts supplement A-K 13-10-23 - Flipbook - Page 303
WONCA 2023 Supplement 1: WONCA 2023 abstracts (A–K)
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The Virtual Integrated Practice (VIP) partnership program:
Harnessing telehealth to revive rural general practice in
Queensland
Dr Breanna Lepre1, Dr Jennifer Job1, Prof Claire Jackson1,2
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Centre for Health System Reform and Integration, Mater Research Institute – University of Queensland
(MRI-UQ), Herston, Qld, 2General Practice Clinical Unit, School of Medicine, University of Queensland,
Herston, Qld
Primary healthcare remains the global cornerstone of efforts to optimise population health. However,
there is a critical lack of medical workforce internationally, with a projected shortfall of 11,392 general
practitioners (GPs) in Australia by 2032. This is particularly notable in rural and remote Australia where
strategies to address medical workforce shortages are urgently required. This pilot study aimed to
implement and evaluate a Virtual Integrated Practice (VIP) model in the Australian rural practice setting.
The Western Queensland Primary Health Network, Health Workforce Queensland and the Mater–
UQ Centre for Health System Reform and Integration partnered with three rural general practices
to co-create the VIP partnership program, where an urban GP joins a rural Australian general
practice team to provide ongoing care to patients remotely via secure telehealth. The program has
been implemented in two rural general practices where service, billing and cost data are collected
on an ongoing basis. Patients are invited to complete an anonymous online survey regarding their
experience.
Between October 2021 and September 2022, 1093 services were provided under the VIP program,
which were predominantly general consults (n = 889) and therapeutic procedures (n = 99). Among
945 occasions of service, patients were predominantly female (77.2%), 4.2% identified as Aboriginal
or Torres Strait Islander and >50% were repeat patient encounters. All survey respondents (n = 32)
indicated that the VIP service met their needs and expectations and that they were satisfied (9.4%)
or highly satisfied (90.6%) with the care they received. Importantly, almost all (96.9%) respondents
reported that the VIP program improved their access to the GP. Data compiled from this study
have informed translation to an additional 20 vulnerable rural practices in 2023. This pilot study
demonstrates the feasibility of a virtual continuity of care model to support a declining rural GP
workforce and improve patient access to primary care.
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