This report provides recommendations on how GPs can help Close the Gap. Better identification of Indigenous patients in general practices would improve their access to Medicare benefits such as health checks that could help ‘Close the Gap’, yet many GPs don’t consider ethnicity to be relevant to quality of care, according to a study from The Australian National University.
 
The study, commissioned by the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute (APCHRI) at ANU and conducted under the auspices of The Lowitja Institute, reviewed the effectiveness of strategies that aim to improve the identification of Indigenous people.
 
National data and research evidence indicate that less than one third of general practices routinely collect information on the Indigenous status of patients. Improved identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients would support new ‘Closing the Gap’ initiatives to extend the delivery of routine health checks and chronic disease management services.