PHC Connect

Building Capacity for Primary Health Care

Key Functions of PHC

Assessment, Referral, short term/episodic care
Prevention and Early Intervention
Ongoing care for chronic conditions
Alternatives to Hospital
Working with Communities
Integrated Primary Health Care
Tackling Health Inequalities

Assessment, Referral, short term/episodic care

This function is the foundation of PaCH services (through general practice and community health services) in providing the first level of health care for the majority of the population.

This function operates almost entirely at the level of individuals, and involves the prompt assessment and response to a wide variety of common ailments and health issues by either short term treatment/care or referral to secondary services.. This function is facilitated by providing locally available and accessible services as well as by effective intake and referral systems.

Assessment, Referral and short term treatment for commonn conditions


• Foundation of PHC
• Locally available & accessible
• Responsive thorough prompt assessment & treatment/support/referral
• Requires effective intake & referral systems

Prevention and Early Intervention

There are a number of common behavioural risk factors that contribute significantly to the overall burden of disease and arWednesday, December 20, 2006 14:57 research demonstrates that prevention programs have been successful in increasing longevity, improving quality of life and reducing health care expenditure.

Other empirical evidence also supports the role of PaCH services in this function in relation to the early years of life, early intervention for common risk factors and community-wide prevention and health promotion initiatives.

This function operates at the level of individuals, families and local communities and aims to enhance the health status of the population through a wide range of approaches such as increasing health literacy, providing effective access to preventive health care, a focus on behavioural risk factors and strengthening the capacity and resilience of communities.

Prevention, early detection & intervention


• Primary & secondary prevention focus
• Health & wellbeing
• Understanding of social determinants
• Enhancing health literacy/resilience
• Integrate in client encounters +
• Community development/engagement
• Partnership approaches

Ongoing care for chronic conditions

Chronic conditions make an estimated 70% contribution to the burden of disease in Australia and the bulk of care for people with chronic conditions is provided in PaCH services.

This function operates both at the level of individuals and local communities, and involves the longer-term provision of coordinated care. This role often involves a combination of health and community care services for people in the community with chronic and complex health conditions, including the frail aged. Examples include shared care programs between GPs and mental health services and chronic condition self management programs.

Ongoing care for chronic conditions


• Longer term provision of coordinated care
• Multidisciplinary approaches
• Incorporates self management
• Enhancing health literacy/resilience
• Community engagement
• Collaboration with secondary & tertiary services & other sectors

Alternatives to Hospital

In response to changes in technologies, consumer preferences and escalating hospital costs, there has been a rapid expansion of extended hours ambulatory care and community acute/post acute care services as alternatives to hospital care. These are designed to prevent acute care, manage the transition between hospital and community care and/or substitute community-based care for hospital care

This function operates at the level of individuals and their carers and involves the provision of short term acute treatment and support, available over extended hours and to the same level of care as would be provided in hospitals.

Acute care in the community


• Short term acute care & support
• Availability of extended hours care & support
• Access to specialist advice/services & social supports
• Collaborative & multidisciplinary approaches

Working with Communities

Integrated Primary Health Care

Tackling Health Inequalities