Experts consider Australia’s future health needs

Health experts and doctors have gathered in Canberra today to discuss the future of general practice.

Health experts and doctors have gathered in Canberra today to discuss the future of general practice. The national conference on primary health care has been considering what Australia’s health needs will be over the next 20 years, particularly as the population ages.Associate Professor Jane Gunn from the University of Melbourne outlined her predictions of a typical general practitioner’s surgery in 2020 which has two doctors and a team of support nurses.”The nurse practitioner is the first point of call for all acute care. All patients with a chronic disease are assigned a specialist nurse who acts as their case manager,” she said.Consumer health advocate Kathy Mott says health care users must be empowered.”We need to not only strengthen the primary health care sector and other parts of the primary health care system but we have to strengthen the consumer sector too,” she said.The conference continues tomorrow.(Source: ABC, Last Update: Thursday, June 19, 2003. 4:15pm (AEST))