The DoHAC is putting an emphasis on team care, VPR and evaluating models of primary care.
Fifty million dollars will be thrown into primary care research from July 2024, according to Health Minister Mark Butler.
The funding will be targeted at models of primary care which are embedded in multidisciplinary teams and which include voluntary patient registration in practice, as well as team-based care.
Also up for funding is the “application of research findings in primary care settings, and spreading knowledge to improve person-centred care”, and better use of data and digital technology to “evaluate models of primary care and support health system planning”.
Mr Butler said an expert advisory panel would be appointed to develop the new Primary Health Research Plan, administered by the Medical Research Future Fund. The plan will released later this year and will start funding projects from July 2024.
The research funds will be drawn from two MRFF Initiatives—up to $30 million over four years from 2024-25 from the Emerging Priorities and Consumer Driven Research Initiative; and up to $20 million over two years from 2025-26 from the Primary Health Care Research Initiative.
It’s unclear whether the $50 million is on top of the $2.2 billion worth of investment to strengthen Medicare that was announced in the May budget.
“We need to do more than just invest and hope it works, we need to map and measure innovation to know what works, so we can scale up the successful innovations,” said Mr Butler.
“The new Primary Health Research Plan will allow our best and brightest to test new models of care that will strengthen Medicare for all Australians.”
