Older Australians receiving home care services are significantly less likely to be hospitalised when they continue seeing a regular GP, new research has found.
Australia's ageing population is placing increasing pressure on hospitals and aged care services, with most older Australians preferring to remain living at home for as long as possible.
Led by the Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) Research Centre at SAHMRI and Flinders University, the study analysed health outcomes for more than 120,000 Australians aged 65 and over receiving long‑term home care between 2016 and 2019.
Published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, it found people who continued seeing their usual GP had an 18 to 28 per cent lower risk of going to an emergency department or hospital, compared with those who frequently saw new doctors.
ROSA Associate Director, Professor Gill Caughey, says the findings highlight the importance of long‑term relationships in primary care for older people with complex health needs.
"Continuity of care really matters for older people," says Professor Caughey.
"When someone is seeing a GP who knows their medical history, medications and priorities, we see fewer hospital visits and better health outcomes."
The study also looked at patterns of primary health care use and found the strongest outcomes were linked to preventative, multidisciplinary care.
Older people who received longer GP consultations, care management plans and allied health support, with less reliance on urgent or after‑hours care, had a 15 to 36 per cent lower risk of hospitalisation and reduced mortality.
Professor Caughey says the findings reinforce the value of proactive care that focuses on prevention and coordination, rather than responding to crises once health has deteriorated.
"This is about identifying problems earlier and managing them better, with GPs, nurses and allied health professionals working as a team," adds Professor Caughey.
The new findings align with a previous ROSA study analysing the health outcomes of more than 330,000 residents across 3000 aged care facilities.
The findings, published in the journal Age and Ageing, revealed only 17% were able to continue with their usual GP after entering care. Those who stayed with the same doctor experienced 8% fewer emergency department presentations, 6% fewer unplanned hospitalisations, 11% fewer fall-related hospitalisations and 21% fewer dementia-related hospitalisations.
The latest results strengthen the case for policy and funding reforms that prioritise continuity of care and support multidisciplinary primary care teams to work to the top of their scope.
This research was supported by the Medical Research Future Fund.
