Trends in GP home visits

To date there has been no detailed analysis of the profile of home visit patients, and the extent of any changes over time in Australian general practitioner home visiting patterns.

The article aims to provide a profile of current provision of home visits by Australian GPs, investigate whether there has been a decline in such services over time, and surmise about causes of changes in service provision and their impact.

We analysed home visit claims over the past decade. Data were extracted from Medicare Benefits Schedule statistics on services claimed and benefits paid for home visit items, for 1997-2007, stratified by item category and patient demographics.

The rate of home visits decreased 51% in a decade, from 15.8 per 100 persons in 1997 to 7.7 in 2007. The majority of patients (60%) receiving home visits were aged 65 years and over in 2007, including 22% aged 85 years and over.

There has been a clear decline in GP home visits over the past decade. This is problematic in the context of a large and growing population of older Australians. Strategies are needed to better support this function in general practice, and/or ensure that alternative providers are meeting the need for these services.