Improving the delivery of primary care for older people

The Australian Institute for Health and Welfare estimates that by 2057 there will be 8.8 million Australians aged 65 years and over, representing 22% of the population. This is an increase from 3.8 million (15% of the population) in 2017.1 The Institute also found that although around 70% self‐assess their health as being good, very good or excellent, around 20% overall experience severe or profound core activity limitation. This applies to around 50% by 85 years of age. In 2017, one‐fifth of all presentations to emergency departments was for people aged 65 years and over,1 but multiple inpatient and outpatient hospital attendances are clearly not an effective way to deal with this growing challenge. Primary care providers, with their potential to focus on primary and secondary prevention, their ability to identify disease at an early stage, their knowledge of the patient including their social context and their capacity for ongoing chronic disease management are vital for the health care of this group. Moreover, primary care has been shown to be cost‐effective,2 an important consideration in a society where taxpaying workers are a shrinking proportion of the population.