The Alliance provided a submission in response to the Review of Primary Health Network (PHN) Business Model & Mental Health Flexible Funding Model (the Review) Discussion Paper.
In the interest of providing evidence-informed responses to the questions raised in the Discussion Paper, the submission includes input from members of the PHN Cooperative Rural Working Group (the Working Group) as well as Alliance members and consumers, focusing primarily on aspects of the Review that have an impact on healthcare access and equity in rural areas.
In summary, the Alliance notes that the current PHN business model and operating environment in rural, remote and regional communities require an overhaul to build on PHNs’ commissioning activities to enable a greater focus on addressing needs and gaps in rural and remote areas.
To address the challenges with the current funding arrangements, the Alliance recommends the Review consider a different, more flexible and strategic approach to funding PHNs.
In addition, considering one of the key goals of PHNs is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of health services for people, particularly those at risk of poor health outcomes, the Review is an opportunity to expand PHNs’ priority areas to include improving access and equity in rural and remote areas. The Alliance acknowledges that this would require establishment of specific core fundingfor rural and remote health to expand PHNs’ role to support active engagement in primary healthcare reform in rural areas.
The full submission with list of recommendations can be downloaded below.