Multimorbidity

As Australia's population ages, it is expected that the number of people with multiple chronic conditions (multimorbidity) will increase. Studies have shown that multimorbidity is associated with reduced quality of life for patients and increased demand on health resources, complexity of care and patient mortality. Similarly to many health care systems around the world, Australia's secondary and tertiary health care has a single disease focus (eg. diabetes mellitus or mental health). However, the complexity of care in managing patients with multiple chronic conditions, often with competing demands, is best handled in primary care by general practitioners (GPs).