Aboriginal community controlled health services: leading the way in primary care

作者：Panaretto Kathryn S^*; Wenitong Mark; Button Selwyn; Ring Ian T

来源：Medical Journal of Australia, 2014, 200(11): 649-652.

DOI：10.5694/mja13.00005

The national Closing the Gap framework commits to reducing persisting disadvantage in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, with cross-government-sector initiatives and investment. %26lt;br%26gt;Central to efforts to build healthier communities is the Aboriginal community controlled health service (ACCHS) sector; its focus on prevention, early intervention and comprehensive care has reduced barriers to access and unintentional racism, progressively improving individual health outcomes for Aboriginal people. %26lt;br%26gt;There is now a broad range of primary health care data that provides a sound evidence base for comparing the health outcomes for Indigenous people in ACCHSs with the outcomes achieved through mainstream services, and these data show: %26lt;br%26gt;models of comprehensive primary health care consistent with the patient-centred medical home model; %26lt;br%26gt;coverage of the Aboriginal population higher than 60% outside major metropolitan centres; %26lt;br%26gt;consistently improving performance in key performance on best-practice care indicators; and %26lt;br%26gt;superior performance to mainstream general practice. %26lt;br%26gt;ACCHSs play a significant role in training the medical workforce and employing Aboriginal people. %26lt;br%26gt;ACCHSs have risen to the challenge of delivering best-practice care and there is a case for expanding ACCHSs into new areas. %26lt;br%26gt;To achieve the best returns, the current mainstream Closing the Gap investment should be shifted to the community controlled health sector.

• 出版日期2014-6-16