The Rural Doctors Association of South Australia (RDASA) says the new Primary Health Network will have to work hard to provide good coverage to all of the state’s country areas.
The Federal Government said the sole network would replace smaller Medicare Locals in coordinating GP and health services.
RDASA president Scott Lewis said the Primary Health Network could make healthcare more consistent across different regions and build on collective knowledge.
However, he said small or remote areas should not miss out.
“It is very, very easy to overlook the smaller communities but those smaller communities often have really quite significant care needs in chronic health and mental health,” he said.
“So that can at times be where the high demand for services lie.”
Dr Lewis said the clear downside to a single network was a potential loss of local identity and focus.
He said the upside was better consistency and the ability to draw on more knowledge.
“Even though somebody may be able to be based in the south-east, they may be able to lend their expertise to the Eyre Peninsula or remote Aboriginal lands, for example,” he said.
“So there is some chances for improvement.”