Service Coordination: The Victorian Experience

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Service Coordination The Victorian Experience

• Clare Amies
• Chair PCP Chairs Managers Group

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DHS PCP Strategic Directions

• Background
• Strategy Initiated in 2000
• Key initiative of Victorian Government
• Major reform in the way primary health services
  are delivered
• Purpose to improve the health and well-being of
  people using primary health services and to
  reduce hospital, medical and residential use.
• 31 Partnerships across the state
• Usually covers 2 3 local government areas
• Sits in broader policy framework

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Who are Primary Care Partnerships?

• Over 800 service providers currently involved
  across the State
• Primary members include
• Community Health Services
• Hospitals
• Local government
• Womens Health
• Aged Care Assessment Services
• Division of GPs
• Royal District Nursing Services
• Mental Health Services

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Aims of Primary Care Partnerships

• Improve the experiences and outcomes for users
  and potential users of the service system
• Plan and deliver more effective health promoting
  services
• Develop a primary care service system that
  complements acute
• Enable demands on current services to be better
  managed
• Create a system where interventions are delivered
  proactively and in partnership

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What is Service Coordination?

• Service coordination delivers
• Early screening of consumers needs
• Appropriate and timely referrals
• A consistent method for collecting consumer
  information
• With consumer consent a means for sharing
  information with providers, reducing the need for
  consumers to repeat their stories
• Improved and more targeted response times
• More streamlined service provision
• Improved operational efficiency

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What is the experience of services?

• more timely and relevant information for clients
• more timely and relevant information for
  professionals involved in clients care
• improved waiting list management
• earlier identification of client needs
• reduced administrative duplication which frees
  resources for direct services
• clearer staff understandings and role definitions
• more resilient partnerships between service
  providers KPMG Review

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What consumers think?

• Qualitative client benefits included
• Clients receiving better and more consistent
  information about
• Service access
• Intake procedures
• Privacy issues
• Reduced intake waiting times
• Immediate attention in urgent cases
• Do not have to repeat their story over and over
  again.
• Quantifiable client benefits included
• Between half to one hour reductions in time taken
  to complete intake and assessment time
• Reduced waiting times for services for high needs
  clients
• More time available and spent on clinical
  services within consultations due to reduced
  administration loads KPMG Review

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The critical success factors.

• Establishment of alliances of health and human
  service agencies
• Clear policy direction
• Investing the time to develop an understanding of
  each others services
• Someone to champion Service Coordination
• Establishing change management approach
• Including staff, clients and carers in system
  design and policy development