The ACT Government is being warned to curb its health expenditure and streamline services because the current rate of spending growth is “unsustainable”.
ACT Medicare Local, which represents the interests of primary health care providers, made the argument in its newly released submission for next year’s territory budget.
It said the ACT Government should focus on unnecessary hospitalisations, especially among older people.
Spending on health accounts for about a third of the ACT’s total budget and that figure was expected to grow rapidly with the ageing population.
Its chairwoman, Dr Rashmi Sharma, said there were efficiencies to be found within the Territory’s health system and a lot of duplication could be removed.
“A lot of the services that are offered by the ACT Government using ACT taxpayers’ money is delivered within general practice as well,” she said.
“So why are we duplicating? Why aren’t we streamlining our services so we can actually focus the money where it needs to go.”
Dr Sharma said immunisation was an example of that duplication, because it was offered within general practice and elsewhere.
“Now we’re not saying there’s one size fits everyone and we’re not saying close one service down completely and force consumers to go to a particular service,” she said.
“But what we’re saying is, at the end of the day we know that the majority of immunisations for children are delivered within ACT general practices.
“Let’s actually enhance that model and then if we can enhance that we can actually free up health dollars which could be used elsewhere in the system.”
Dr Sharma said other areas where there were double-ups in provision of services included diabetes education and support services for patients after discharge from hospital.
She said more investment in primary health care could prevent people from needing the more expensive hospital system.
“Let’s invest into health promotion, lets invest into actually primary prevention, let’s invest in preventing people from getting unwell,” she said.