The latest Australian Healthcare Index June 2023 report showed that patients were skipping medical care due to cost and were increasingly dissatisfied with Australian healthcare services.
The fifth bi-annual survey conducted by Healthengine and the Australian Patients Association (APA) found that 43% of patients considered out-of-pocket costs to see a doctor or GP a top healthcare challenge, up 10% since November 2022 – which resulted in 42% of Australians making less visits to the GP.
More than half (51%) of 18-34-year-olds have been impacted.
Other key findings included:
- 35% of all respondents skipped medical diagnostic tests due to associated out-of-pocket costs, with potential barriers to timely diagnosis.
- Wait times were a critical issue for 66% of respondents, with 43% concerned about GP, nurse, and healthcare worker shortages and 40% worried about ED wait times.
- Patient satisfaction with the healthcare system in Australia declined to 7.0 out of 10 in June 2023, down from 7.8 out of 10 in March 2021.
The data, from more than 10,000 respondents, also suggested that dissatisfaction could be attributed to the decline in bulk billing (71% of respondents) and Medicare not covering a wide enough range of services (67% of respondents).
APA CEO, Mr Stephen Mason applauded the recent move to triple Medicare incentives but believed the results showed a health system which continued to operate under considerable stress.
“Patients are struggling to get the services they need,” he said.
“The recent federal budget is the first step to helping more GP clinics bulk bill their most vulnerable patients from November this year. However, with significant numbers of patients from all walks of life making financial choices to skip care, we still have a long way to go.”
“People with health concerns who do not fit into this category will continue to avoid visiting a doctor due to cost concerns, especially Millennials without a concession card and Gen Zs who are over the age of eighteen,” CEO and Founder of Healthengine, Dr Marcus Tan, added.
In the 18–34 age cohort, only 43% visited their GP first for care and advice, and this age group was the most likely to make “Dr Google” their first stop for health advice, with 1 in 4 turning to the internet before considering an appointment.
Similarly, young adults were the least likely (23%) to have a regular GP, compared to 12% of the general patient population – even though 1 in 3 sought mental healthcare in the past six months, compared to 1 in 4 across all age groups.
They were also the most likely age cohort to have gone without prescription medication due to cost concerns, with 42% of 18-34-year-olds saying they had to skip scripts compared to 27% of respondents across the board.
Of significant concern was that 49% of people who went to an ED said that their care could have been provided by a GP or UCC instead – which showed that EDs were being inappropriately used because other services were unavailable or unaffordable.
“We’re continuing to hear of patients all around Australia going to the emergency department for non-emergency care to avoid out-of-pocket costs instead of visiting a doctor,” Mr Mason said.
“This is impacted by the initial problems of cost of basic care – patients who skip primary care check-ups because of cost concerns are increasing their chances of ending up in a hospital with a far more serious condition or forcing them to visit the emergency department with a non-urgent condition, contributing to a cycle of ED overuse, ambulance ramping and strain on medical resources and staff.”
The data in the Index corroborated findings from the Productivity Commission Report 2023, which showed that before the pandemic 9% of West Australians reported delaying or not seeing a GP due to cost, but by 2021-22 that figure had increased to 16.1%.
During this time, the number of patients being fully bulk billed by their GP in WA fell from 64.9% to 61.4%, while the percentage of Western Australians who reported delaying or not filling a prescription due to cost rose from 6.9% to 9.7%.
However, while the number of people seeing a GP dropped nationally, in WA, the total number of GP services accessed per person actually increased, from 6.1 to 6.8 between 2018 -19 and 2022, boosted by the provision of Telehealth services.
These services were provided by 2452 FTE GPs based in cities in 2021, with 284 servicing outer regional and remote areas, and subsidised to the tune of $1,106.9 per GP and a further $400.7 per individual, per visit, by the Australian Government.