The role of practice nurses in coordinated care of people with chronic and complex conditions

General practice in Australia must cope with growing numbers of individuals with chronic and complex needs. The Australian Government has recognised the need to reform the primary health care sector to address this issue, with recent initiatives, such as coordinated care. The overall goal of coordinated care at a national level is to facilitate integrated care for people with chronic and complex conditions, by enhancing collaborative partnerships among general practitioners, primary health care providers, community service providers and clients. Interestingly, practice nurses (PNs) have not been identified as key stakeholders in the coordinated care service delivery model in Australia. In contrast, an expanded role for PNs has been in place in the United Kingdom and New Zealand for some time. This paper is based on focus group discussions with Australian PNs who have had a range of experiences in coordinated care models. The study identifies an important role for PNs, suggesting trial of a variety of models of coordinated care that include PNs in chronic disease management process.