Patient insights revealed in new Australian Healthcare Index
6th Australian Healthcare Index reveals a concerning pattern of delayed GP and dental visits and people going without medication as cost of living pressures bite.
Patient insights revealed in new Australian Healthcare Index
6th Australian Healthcare Index reveals a concerning pattern of delayed GP and dental visits and people going without medication as cost of living pressures bite.
Key Findings
Top 3 challenges for Australian healthcare
Increasing out-of-pocket costs to see a GP is now the biggest concern of patients outright, followed by emergency department wait times and private health insurance costs. Concern around the latter has gone up by 5% in each of the past two surveys.
The great health cost crunch
You don’t have to look far to see that a lack of affordability is hurting Australians. A worrying amount of people are going to the GP less often, delaying dental care and putting off scans and mental health care. Cost is the major driver.
Is this really an emergency?
For a second straight survey, nearly half of people who went to the emergency department (ED) said that, on reflection, they believed their care could have been provided by a GP or Urgent Care Clinic instead.
Private health insurance still a touchy subject
The percentage of people surveyed who had private health insurance (PHI) reached its highest point for any AHI. But the Net Promoter Score for PHI was negative for a fourth straight survey.
Prescription medicine out of reach for many
30% of people reported going without their prescription medicine because of cost concerns, some of them for more than four weeks. Low to middle-income earners are particularly impacted.
General population health needs attention
Half of all respondents said they had a health condition, with diabetes and mental illness among the most common. Low- income earners are most likely to have a health condition.
To see more learnings & insights, download the full report here
