Proportion of Level B attendances drops: AIHW

Of the 189 million GP attendances in 2021–22, more than 57.14% (108 million) were Level B consultations lasting less than 20 minutes, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has revealed.
 
However, while still the most common attendance, these figures represent a 6% drop compared to 2020–21, when it comprised 63% of the 171 million general practice consultations that year.
 
Nine-in-10 Australians sought general practice care in 2021–22, with females (92%) slightly more likely to see a GP than males (87%), while they also received more Medicare-subsidised GP services per person (8.3 compared with 6.3 for males).
 
The 90% of Australians who saw a GP represents a rate above pre-pandemic levels. While COVID restrictions resulted in a drop to 85% in 2020–21, in the five years leading up to this period the rate hovered at around 87–88% of people receiving at least one Medicare-subsidised GP service per year.
 
The increased attendances coincided with $9.1 billion being spent on general practice consultations, representing 53% of the $17 billion paid in Medicare benefits for primary care services during this period.
 
At the same time, $4 billion was spent on diagnostic imaging, $2.3 billion went towards specialist attendances, and allied health received $1.8 billion.
 
The AIHW figures show that the number of Medicare-subsidised GP services per person increased with age and was highest for those aged 80 and over (18.6 services per person).
 
The report also indicates that a higher proportion of people living in metropolitan Primary Health Network (PHN) areas had a Medicare-subsidised GP attendance after hours (20%), compared with regional PHN areas (10%).
 
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AIHW Australian Institute of Health and Welfare funding Level B