General practice experiences of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout: lessons for primary care reform
Michael Wright
A B * , Rebekah Hoffman C , M. John Petrozzi D and Sarah Wise A
A Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, NSW, Australia.
B Woollahra Doctors, Level 1, 112 Queen Street, Woollahra, NSW 2025, Australia.
C Graduate Medicine General Practice Academic Unit, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
D Kolling Institute, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Australian Health Review 46(5) 595-604 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH22121
Submitted: 23 May 2022 Accepted: 21 August 2022 Published: 19 September 2022
© 2022 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY).
Abstract
Objective The aim of this research was to explore the experiences of general practice in delivering Australia’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, and the impact on practice finances and workforce.
Methods Eighteen semi-structured interviews with owners and practice managers of general practices in Greater Sydney between June and August 2021 were conducted.
Results Practices reported early enthusiasm for the vaccine rollout and engaged in large-scale staffing and infrastructure adaptations to manage increased vaccination workload. Although some practices reported increased income related to vaccination, nearly all reported increased costs. Lack of timely and transparent communication between primary care and policymakers was a major concern for practices.
Conclusions The success of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout relied on the goodwill of general practices. Participation in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout resulted in increased stress, increased administration workload, and reduced financial viability for many practices.
Keywords: COVID-19, financial viability, general practice, health policy, health workforce, immunisation, primary care, vaccination.
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