Patient Centred Medical Home (PCMH) transitions in western Sydney, Australia: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Patient Centred Medical Homes (PCMHs), increasingly evidenced to provide high quality primary care, are new to Australia. To learn how this promising new healthcare model works in an Australian setting we explored experiences of healthcare providers in outer urban Sydney, where a number of practices are transitioning from traditional Australian general practice models to incorporate elements of PCMH approaches. METHODS: We collected qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with healthcare providers working in a range of transitioning practices and thematically analysed the data. We interviewed 35 participants including general practitioners, practice managers and practice nurses from 25 purposively sampled general practices in western Sydney, Australia, seeking maximal variation in practice size, patient demographics and type of engagement in practice transformation. RESULTS: Interviewees described PCMH transformation highlighting the importance of whole of practice engagement with a shared vision; key strategies for transformation to PCMH models of care including leadership, training and supportive information technology; structures and processes required to provide team-based, data-driven care; and constraints such as lack of space and the current Australian fee-for-service general practice funding model. They also reported their perceptions of early outcomes of the PCMH model of care, describing enhanced patient and staff satisfaction and also noting fewer hospital admissions, as likely to reduce costs of care. CONCLUSIONS: Our study exploring the experience of early adopters of PCMH models of care in Australia, informs the international movement towards PCMH models of care. Our findings provide guidance for practices considering similar transitions and describe the challenges of such transitions within a fee-for-service payment system.

Experiences of primary healthcare professionals and patients from an area of urban disadvantage: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The health disadvantage in socioeconomically marginalised urban settings can be challenging for health professionals, but strong primary health care improves health equity and outcomes. AIM: To understand challenges and identify needs in general practices in a socioeconomically marginalised Australian setting. DESIGN & SETTING: Qualitative methodology with general practices in a disadvantaged area of western Sydney. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals and their patients were transcribed and analysed thematically under the guidance of a reference group of stakeholder representatives. RESULTS: A total of 57 participants from 17 practices (comprising 16 GPs, five GP registrars [GPRs], 15 practice staff, 10 patients, and 11 allied health professionals [AHPs]), provided a rich description of local communities and patients, and highlighted areas of satisfaction and challenges of providing high quality health care in this setting. Interviewees identified issues with health systems impacting on patients and healthcare professionals, and recommended healthcare reform. Team-based, patient-centred models of primary health care with remuneration for quality of care rather than patient throughput were strongly advocated, along with strategies to improve patient access to specialist care. CONCLUSION: The needs of healthcare professionals and patients working and living in urban areas of disadvantage are not adequately addressed by the Australian health system. The authors recommend the implementation of local trials aimed at improving primary health care in areas of need, and wider health system reform in order to improve the health of those at socioeconomic and health disadvantage.

Pharmacists in general practice: recommendations resulting from team-based collaborative care.

The Western Sydney Primary Health Network (PHN), WentWest, has been working to improve patient and health system outcomes by commissioning projects that enhance patient-focussed, team-based care. One such project is the WentWest General Practice Pharmacist Project, involving the integration of pharmacists within general practice sites. The aim of this study is to describe, classify and analyse recommendations made by pharmacists to GPs, resulting from patient consultations between pharmacists and patients in a general practice setting. This study was a multi-centre prospective observational study (April 2017-September 2017) investigating recommendations made by pharmacists integrated in a general practice setting. Thirteen general practice sites located in Western Sydney, NSW, Australia were involved in the study. The main outcome measures of this study include the classification of pharmacist recommendations and the percentage of those recommendations accepted by GPs. The pharmacists recorded the results from 618 patient consultations. These consultations resulted in 1601 recommendations of which 1404 (88%) were recorded as accepted. This study demonstrated that the recommendations made by pharmacists in general practice are well accepted by GPs and may lead to improvements in medication management and patient care.

Pharmacists in general practice: a focus on drug-related problems.

Background Team based care has been used internationally to improve the delivery of best practice primary health care. The WentWest General Practice Pharmacist Project, involving the integration of pharmacists within general practice teams, was commissioned to improve medication management of general practice patients. A particular focus of the project was the performance of medication review to allow the detection and resolution of drug related problems (DRPs). Objective The objectives of this 6-month study (October 2016-March 2017) were to: (1) identify and classify the DRPs detected as a result of pharmacist activities within a general practice primary care setting. (2) compare the number of pharmacist recommendations and GP acceptance rates as a result of pharmacist patient consultations across multiple general practice sites. Setting 15 general practice primary care sites in Western Sydney NSW Australia. A multi-centre prospective observational study conducted over a 6-month period from October 2016 to March 2017. Main outcome measure Drug-related problems (DRPs). Results Six pharmacists recorded the results from 493 patient consultations. The pharmacists identified 1124 DRPs and made 984 recommendations, of which 685 (70%) were recorded as accepted by the GP. Conclusion Pharmacists have a valuable role to play in the detection and resolution of DRP as part of the general practice team.