Patient Care Facilitator trial starting

The first trials of Patient Care Facilitators (PCFs) are about to begin in Ipswich and Logan.

The facilitators – mostly GP practice nurses - will coordinate care for newly-discharged patients to prevent readmission to hospital.

AMA Queensland advocated strongly for their introduction as part of the Ramping Roundtable Action Plan to reduce stress on hospital emergency departments.

The Queensland Government has committed $2.4 million in funding for the two trial sites over two years, which is a significant achievement based on the historical refusal by state governments to fund general practice.

The funding will cover the PCFs and also a payment for the practice for administrative costs.

The service models have been co-designed and will be delivered in partnership by Queensland Health with the respective Primary Health Network (PHN), Hospital and Health Service (HHS) and local general practices.

The PCFs will work with the hospital-based discharge coordinator (HDC) to identify eligible patients, review their patient information and ensure discharge summaries are received.

The PCF will contact each patient within four days of discharge and provide initial post-discharge followup and ongoing care as required.

This project aims to keep Queenslanders out of hospital by using PCFs to:

• ensure patients discharged from hospital see their GP within seven days to reduce the risk of readmission; and
• facilitate better communication between hospitals and general practice.

We know the risk of readmission to hospital is dramatically reduced if a patient can see their GP within a week of discharge.

We look forward to seeing the results of these trials and will advocate for funding for them to be rolled out across all general practices.