In an effort to show how primary healthcare (PHC) access has important implications for rural health service and workforce planning, the team's proposed Index of Access captures key components of access and uses a floating catchment approach to better define service areas and population accessibility levels. The study models hypothetical increases in supply for a range of regional centres, medium and small rural towns, and shows the resulting changes of access scores to inform health service and workforce planning decisions. The authors conclude that the availability of a "fit-for-purpose" access measure provides a move accurate basis for service planning and allocation of health resources, and shows great potential for improving PHC access and guiding redistribution of PHC services to address inequities.
NBHC Sustainability