Residents of aged care facilities are amongst the most frail of Australians, often having complex care needs requiring multidisciplinary providers. Some residents of aged care facilities experience difficulties in accessing the services of GPs and allied health professionals.

Aim

The aim of the Aged Care Access Initiative is to improve access to primary care (GP and allied health services) for residents of aged care facilities.

Components

The initiative supports improving access to GP and allied health services for residents of aged care facilities through two separate components as follows:

• General Practice:
  An incentive payment through the Practice Incentives Program (PIP) to encourage GPs to provide more services in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs). The incentive recognises some of the difficulties faced by GPs in providing care in these settings and aims to encourage GPs to continue to provide increased and continuing services in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs). The PIP payments will be administered through Medicare Australia; and

• Allied Health:
  A payment for clinical care provided by Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in RACFs, where these services are not currently covered by Medicare or other government funding arrangements. This component will be managed by State Based Organisations in each State and Territory which may purchase allied health services directly or through contractual arrangements with Divisions of General Practice.