An assessment of the spatial distribution of bulk billing-only GP services in Australia in relation to area-based socio-economic status
Bree Graham A * , Estie Kruger
A , Marc Tennant A and Yulia Shiikha A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Human Sciences, University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.
* Correspondence to: 21444854@student.uwa.edu.au
Australian Journal of Primary Health 29(5) 437-444 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY22125
Submitted: 21 June 2022 Accepted: 15 January 2023 Published: 23 February 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Background: The accessibility to affordable primary healthcare services contributes to population health and health equity. A key aspect to accessibility is the geographical distribution of primary healthcare services. Limited studies have assessed the nationwide spatial distribution of bulk billing-only medical practices or ‘no-fee’ services. The aim of this study was to provide a nationwide approximation of bulk billing-only services and evaluate the socio-demographic status and population characteristics in relation to the distribution of bulk billing-only GP services.
Methods: The methodology in this study used Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to map the locations of all bulk bulking-only medical practices collected in mid-2020 and linked this with population data. The population data and practice locations were analysed at the level of Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) regions and used the most recent Census data.
Results: The study sample included (n = 2095) bulk billing-only medical practice locations. The nationwide average Population-to-Practice (PtP) ratio was 1 practice to 8529 people for regions with access to bulk billing-only practice, and 57.4% of the Australian population lives within an SA2 that has access to at least one bulk billing-only medical practices. No significant associations were identified between practice distribution and area socio-economic status.
Conclusion: The study identified areas with low access to affordable GP services, with many SA2 regions having no access to bulk billing-only practices. Findings also indicate that there was no association between area socio-economic status and the distribution of bulk billing-only services.
Keywords: Australia, bulk billing only, General Practitioner (GP) services, GIS, medical practices, out-of-pocket expenses, practice billing policies, practice-to-population ratio, socio-economic status.
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