Summary

Timely access to quality health care is important in preventing, treating and managing diseases. When patients are unable to obtain appropriate health care when they need it, they face barriers to accessing health care.

Many factors can impede or prevent a patient accessing health care. Some relate to the individual, such as:

  • their understanding of the urgency of their need
  • their attitude toward accessing health care
  • their work commitments
  • other life pressures.

Other factors relate to the health system. For example:

  • a service might not be available where the patient lives
  • the cost might be too high
  • there might be a long waiting list.

These barriers can delay a patient receiving appropriate care, and lead to poorer health outcomes.
The 2016 Survey of Health Care focused on Australians aged 45 and over who had seen a general practitioner (GP) between November 2014 and November 2015.

This report uses results from the survey to look at the associations between selected patient characteristics—such as age, sex and the language they speak at home—and patients’ self-reported experiences of selected barriers to accessing health care. It focuses on access to GPs and specialists.

1 in 4 people did not see a GP when they felt they needed to

In 2016, an estimated 1 in 4 (24%) patients aged 45 and over reported there was a time when they felt
they needed to see a GP but did not go, while 1 in 8 (13%) reported that there was a time when they
felt they needed to see a specialist but did not go.

Those who needed to use health services the most, were more likely to not see a GP or specialist when they felt they needed to

In 2016, after adjusting for the effects of other patient characteristics, patients with high health needs were:

  • 3.3 times as likely as those with low health needs to report that there was a time when they felt they needed to see a GP but did not go

  • 3.6 times as likely as those with low health needs to report that there was a time when they felt they needed to see a specialist but did not go.

 

Did not see a GP when needed

Did not see a specialist when needed

High health needs

31%

18%

Low health needs

19%

9%

Patients with high health needs also had more GP visits (13.8 per person), on average, than patients with low health needs (4.6 per person).

Half of the patients who did not see a GP when they felt they needed to said they could not get an appointment

In 2016, of the 24% of patients who felt they needed to see a GP but did not go, half (50%) said that being unable to get an appointment when needed was a reason.

Of the 13% of patients who felt they needed to see a specialist but did not go, nearly half (45%) said that cost was a reason.

Lack of nearby health services is a bigger barrier for people living in remote Australia

In 2016, the proportion of patients who said that a reason they did not see a GP or specialist was that there were no health services nearby rose with increasing remoteness.

 

No GP nearby

No specialist nearby 

Major cities 

3%

6%

Inner regional

5%

22%

Outer regional

9%

31%

Remote and very remote

20%

61%

After adjusting for the effects of other patient characteristics, patients living in Remote and very remote areas were:

  • 8.2 times as likely as those living in Major cities to report that not having a GP nearby was a reason for not seeing a GP when needed
  • 24.4 times as likely as those living in Major cities to report that not having a specialist nearby was a reason for not seeing a specialist when needed.