News
Practice Nurses Can Do More – New Research Shows |
| Spokesperson: | Australian Healthcare Association |
| Date: | Wednesday, 2 May 2007 |
| Category: | Research/Trials |
| Australia lags behind other countries in our use of practice nurses for chronic disease management, according to a new study published in the latest Australian Health Review. The Australian Health Review is the peer-reviewed journal of the Australian Healthcare Association, the peak national body for public hospitals, aged and community care facilities. "Australia's health system is under increasing pressure due to health workforce shortages and the growing rates of chronic diseases in the community. Making the best use of our nursing workforce to improve chronic disease management in the primary care setting is vital if we are to prevent the development of more serious conditions and reduce overall health care costs," said Dr Heidi Muenchberger, co-author and Research Fellow, Research Centre for Clinical Practice Innovation, Health Institute, Griffith University and Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine. Associate Professor Elizabeth Kendall, co-author and prominent academic in the field of chronic disease and disability states that "The government has introduced a number of measures to support better chronic disease management in primary care. These include support for coordinated health care, focussing on the development of disease management approaches and evidence-based protocols for multidisciplinary care involving GPs and other health and community service providers. Fellow author and Associate Professor of Nursing at Griffith University, Elizabeth Patterson, continues this point to say that “practice nurses have not been identified as key stakeholders in these programs and there is no clearly articulated role for them in the provision of coordinated care. This differs from practices in other countries, such as the UK and New Zealand, where practice nurses play an integral role in coordinated care. "This has left many practice nurses feeling that they are under-utilised and under-valued. While the role of practice nurses differs from practice to practice, in general, nurses felt that they could contribute much more to the care of patients with chronic conditions. "Indeed in some areas, such as health assessments, practice nurses felt that they performed better than GPs as they had more time to spend talking to patients and better interview skills. However, rebates for health assessments are provided to GPs and not to practice nurses or other health professionals who may undertake the assessment. "These findings pose a challenge to our primary health care policies which many practice nurses feel have predominantly focussed on GPs, without including other members of the primary care team. For example, many nurses said that most of the information and training about coordinated care was made available to GPs and not to practice nurses. "With a serious GP shortage in Australia, we need to focus more on primary care teams in the management of chronic disease. This will require flexible models of funding to suit the individual needs and characteristics of each practice and a more clearly defined role for practice nurses within these models. "Given appropriate education, support and recognition, practice nurses could play a far more significant role in the care and management of people with chronic and complex conditions and deliver better health outcomes and a more efficient use of scarce health resources," Associate Professor Patterson said. For more information/comment: Assoc Prof Elizabeth Patterson ph 0417 716 075 |
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