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<pstyle:2 – Body Text>Gippsland Primary Health Network (PHN) has released new primary care research about mortality rates, avoidable deaths, and the cost of potentially preventable hospitalisations in Gippsland.
The research has been presented in two Health Insights papers, Primary Care: Mortality and health issues in Gippsland and Primary Care: keeping people out of hospital.
The papers benchmark the findings against national
data to provide an overview of Gippsland’s health needs and identify key priority areas.
The data also emphasises the critical role of primary health care in preventing, detecting, and treating illnesses to prevent unnecessary hospitalisations and improve overall health outcomes. This helps reduce the burden on hospitals and specialised services in Gippsland.
The data showed:
– Life expectancy in Gippsland is 83.1 years for females (Australia 85.1) and 78.2 years for males (Australia 81.1).
– Avoidable deaths are 48 per cent higher for males, with 148 deaths per 100,000 compared to 100 for women in Gippsland.
– Rural Australians are more than twice as likely to die from potentially avoidable causes.
– From 2018 to 2022, avoidable deaths for circulatory system diseases were 17 per cent higher in Gippsland compared to national rates.
– There were 9783 potentially preventable hospitalisations for people in Gippsland during 2022-23.
– The Independent Hospital Pricing Authority report showed preventable hospitalisations cost Gippsland $48 million per year.
– The top reason for potentially preventable hospitalisations for Gippsland males was diabetes complications (965 admissions) and for Gippsland females was iron deficiency anaemia (868 admissions).
– Barriers for accessing primary care in Gippsland include the cost of healthcare, lack of availability of appropriate and accessible primary care options, extended wait times and difficulty understanding health information and services.
Gippsland PHN acting chief executive officer Angela Jacob said the Health Insights papers will drive primary care initiatives and inform future planning and delivery of services for the community.
“Primary care research is a cornerstone of driving better health outcomes for our region. By examining mortality rates, avoidable deaths, and the cost of potentially preventable hospitalisations, we gain invaluable insights into where we need to focus our efforts,” she said.
“For example, the data highlights circulatory system diseases as a key priority – an issue that aligns perfectly with February being Heart Health Month. This research empowers us to address these challenges head-on and create targeted strategies to improve outcomes for our community.”
