Organizing Delivery Systems to Better Support Primary Care: What Can States in the US Learn From and Share With Australia?
Walkabout Medical Homes with Mary Takach: A 10-month Study of Australia
September 2014
What can states with large frontier areas such as Alaska, Texas, Montana, and Arizona learn from how Australia organizes and supports primary care delivery in its vast outback?
What do publicly financed community-based teams, networks, and organizations found in states including Vermont, North Carolina, Oregon, and Colorado have in common with the Australia government’s four-year experiment in financing and organizing local primary health care organizations nation-wide?
What lessons can states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania share with the Australian government on how to evolve primary care provider payments from fee for service (FFS) (yes, Australia general practitioners also get paid FFS) to blended payment models that include capitation and shared savings to better support access to medical homes?
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For individuals living with complex, often chronic conditions, and their families, palliative care can provide relief from symptoms, improve satisfaction and outcomes, and help address critical mental and spiritual needs during difficult times. Now more than ever, there is growing recognition of the importance of palliative care services for individuals with serious illness, such as advance care planning, pain and symptom management, care coordination, and team-based, multi-disciplinary support. These services can help patients and families cope with the symptoms and stressors of disease, better anticipate and avoid crises, and reduce unnecessary and/or unwanted care. While this model is grounded in evidence that demonstrates improved quality of life, better outcomes, and reduced cost for patients, only a fraction of individuals who could benefit from palliative care receive it. 
