Medicare Local service for East Sydney
A new Medicare Local opened in East Sydney last week. The new service will make it easier for patients with complex health needs to better coordinate their ongoing health care across multiple services and agencies. There will be a specific focus on improving after hours care and links between on the ground local health facilities.
The service is recognition that patients with complex medical problems, including chronic conditions like HIV/AIDS, face difficulty because they require so many different forms of health care and numerous services.
Federal Health Minister and Sydney MP Tanya Plibersek was present for the launch and said the service had been shown to decrease usage pressures on local health resources. “The Medicare Local will improve the communication links between hospitals and health services by using new technology like eHealth records to make the patient’s experience simpler and better.
“Primary healthcare-led models such as Eastern Sydney Medicare Local have been shown to decrease hospital admissions and prescription use by about 25 percent,” she said.
The Eastern Sydney Medicare Local also covers five local government areas – Sydney, Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and Botany Bay.
