Professor Mark Cormack confirmed researchers were finalising work on the second of two issues papers from the workforce review.
Work is ramping up on the second phase of the Unleashing the potential of our health workforce – scope of practice review ahead of the release of issues paper #2 in April, according to lead reviewer Professor Mark Cormack.
In the latest update outlining the review’s progress, Professor Cormack said the second paper would feature several potential “policy solutions” to expanding primary care health professionals’ scope of practice, drawn from feedback from over 250 submissions received during the public consultation process for Issues Paper #1.
Recommendations would also draw on findings from a “comprehensive” literature review identifying the barriers and enablers to supporting a stronger primary care system, as well as results from more than 250 submissions received during the public consultation process for issues paper #1, alongside feedback from a series of national consultation sessions and virtual rural and remote roundtables involving more than 500 participants.
A third round of public consultations would proceed the release of issues paper #2, Professor Cormack said, followed by another round of consultations scheduled to run from June to July.
“I was delighted with the stakeholder response to the national consultation sessions. They were an integral element of Phase 2 of the review and a vital opportunity to communicate and discuss Issues Paper #1 with people around Australia,” Professor Cormack said.
“The feedback from the consultation sessions, together with the public submission process and additional stakeholder engagement, have provided a rich source of data which will continue to inform emerging policy solutions and subsequent phases of the review.
“An intensive program of work over the next two months is expected.”
Additional webinars and discussion sessions with a variety of stakeholder groups were also arranged for later this year to explore more deeply areas of consensus and difference raised during the latest public consultation phase, Professor Cormack said.
These stakeholder groups included allied health professionals, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, medical practioners, private health insurers, medical indemnity insurers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representatives and consumers.
The first paper from the scope of practice review, released earlier this year, highlighted three “potential enablers” to widening the scope of practice for allied health professionals:
- Updating the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme to increase primary health practitioners’ capacity to apply their training and qualifications in clinical practice
- Establishing multidisciplinary care teams targeting particular patient populations
- “Strengthening” primary care clinical governance
The paper also highlighted limitations with fee-for-service funding models preventing better care coordination across primary care, with block funding, bundled payments and blended funding all floated as potential solutions.
The latest update from the Unleashing the potential of our health workforce – scope of practice review is available here.