Primary health care has been described by the Australian Government Department of Health as ‘the first contact a person has with Australia’s health system’. The Department acknowledge that many people associate primary health care with their local GP, but that primary care also includes ‘care provided through nurses, allied health professionals, midwives, pharmacists, dentists and Aboriginal health workers’, and that it can be provided in the home or in a range of community-based settings (Australian Government Department of Health 2018).
The Discussion Paper does not provide a definition of primary health care, but given longstanding discussions about the difference between primary care and primary health care, a clear definition should be provided. The definition should highlight the extension of ‘the scope of the health task – from a focus on care for the already sick to the creation of the conditions for health’ (Sweet 2010) in accordance with the WHO Alma Ata Declaration. Primary medical care is an essential part of primary health care, but different approaches and different tasks must also be present to create the conditions for health. Such recognition is important for providing some certainty in an environment where there is significant dependency on a diverse range of small businesses to shift their business models.
