Travelling Fellowship Report

Abstract

Health policy makers in Australia and the United Kingdom have focused on the increasing role of primary health care in the management of people with chronic disease. The approaches taken by the two countries have varied mainly because of the differences in the way primary health care is organised and funded. Many of the Australian policy options arising from the key findings of the chronic disease management review focused on support to improve practice level data and payment systems to facilitate greater multidisciplinary team care to support selfmanagement. This is in contrast to the UK where high quality practice level data are used to monitor and reward chronic disease management through the Quality and Outcomes Framework [1]. In addition to this, the payment system for UK primary health care favours a multi-disciplinary approach to chronic disease management.