Evaluating general practitioners' views about the implementation of the Enhanced Primary Care Medicare items

Abstract

Objective To investigate the issues for general practitioners surrounding the implementation of the Enhanced Primary Care (EPC) Medicare items for health assessments, care planning and case conferencing. Design Qualitative study of GPs' responses to a semistructured face‐to‐face interview. Participants and setting 30 GPs in the South Western Sydney Area. Main outcome measures GPs' perceptions regarding barriers to coordination of care; use of the EPC items; difficulties with implementation; suggestions for improving EPC implementation; and coordination of care in general practice. Results Five main categories of response were identified to each area of questioning: time, organisation, communication, education, and resources. GPs expressed difficulties incorporating use of the items into their daily practice without support. Conclusions Implementation of the EPC items not only facilitates integration between GPs and other healthcare professionals, it also depends upon other forms of integration to succeed. A facilitator and a structured framework to address issues are required to assist their implementation.