Use nurses for chronic disease management
Australia lags behind other countries in our use of practice nurses for chronic disease management, according to a new study published in the latest Australian Health Review.
Practice nurses have not been identified as key stakeholders in such programs and there is no clearly articulated role for them in the provision of coordinated care. This differs from practices in other countries, such as the UK and New Zealand, where practice nurses play an integral role in coordinated care.
This has left many practice nurses feeling that they are under-utilised and under-valued. While the role of practice nurses differs from practice to practice, in general, nurses felt that they could contribute much more to the care of patients with chronic conditions.
In some areas, such as health assessments, practice nurses felt that they performed better than GPs as they had more time to spend talking to patients and better interview skills. However, rebates for health assessments are provided to GPs and not to practice nurses or other health professionals who may undertake the assessment.
The findings pose a challenge to Australian primary health care policies which many practice nurses feel have predominantly focused on GPs, without including other members of the primary care team. For example, many nurses said that most of the information and training about coordinated care was made available to GPs and not to practice nurses.
“Australia’s health system is under increasing pressure due to health workforce shortages and the growing rates of chronic diseases in the community. Making the best use of our nursing workforce to improve chronic disease management in the primary care setting is vital if we are to prevent the development of more serious conditions.
