Australian GP practices perform well in 19-country chronic conditions survey

Australia has performed well in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) inaugural Patient-Reported Indicator Surveys (PaRIS), which collected data from 107,000 patients and 1800 primary care practices across 19 countries.¹ Patients were surveyed on their health outcomes and experiences with GP practices, with Australia performing better or close to the OECD average in 10 health areas measured. The nation ranked in the top five countries in four areas, namely: quality of care (94%), coordination of care (74%), person-centred care (94%), and physical and general health (74%).

Yet, as the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) acknowledged in a statement announcing the release of the PaRIS Survey: Australian National Report 2025, there is also room for improvement in other areas, namely: mental health, wellbeing and social functioning (how well patients perform activities and responsibilities). PaRIS measures how well people with chronic conditions are managed in the community and opportunities to improve their care, and is important as the burden of chronic disease is high in this country, with one in two Australians having at least one chronic condition, and $82 billion spent in 2022–23 on treating chronic diseases.

Those surveyed

Run in 2023 to fill a global gap in patient-reported experience and outcomes data, for inclusion in the PaRIS survey, patients were aged 45 years and over, had at least one chronic condition and visited a GP in the last six months. From Australia, almost 2400 patients from 54 GP practices gave feedback for PaRIS on their experiences and health outcomes — ACSQHC led the local survey with ORIMA Research, on behalf of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

Insights

Patients in all countries who experience better-quality care are more likely to report better physical health, mental health and wellbeing, the study found, reinforcing the need to improve access to health care and encourage multidisciplinary team-based care, and the importance of the GP relationship. Regarding the picture of chronic conditions in Australia, the five most commonly reported included: high blood pressure (57%), arthritis or ongoing back and joint pain (45%), depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions (33%), breathing conditions (24%), and cardiovascular/heart conditions (23%).

Australian patients with multiple chronic conditions generally had worse outcomes and experiences, were less confident in managing their own care, and trusted the health system less. It was found that patients with multiple chronic conditions felt their care was well coordinated, more so than patients with fewer chronic conditions — something that indicates that Australia’s care coordination efforts are generally well-targeted.

Comment

“The findings demonstrate that Australia’s healthcare system is performing well compared to other OECD countries, with all 10 indicators either better or close to other countries’ average,” said Associate Professor Liz Marles, GP and ACSQHC Clinical Director. “A key takeaway is the importance of a trusted, longstanding relationship between the patient and a GP, which leads to better levels of care coordination and more person-centred care.

“We have more work to do to improve our social functioning, mental health and wellbeing which are close to the OECD average, so we need to better support patients in their activities and responsibilities at home, work and in the community,” Marles added. “The PaRIS insights are fascinating and will shed light on whether our health system is meeting the needs of Australians living with chronic conditions — and where the gaps are.

“For GPs who delve into the detail, it could be a game changer for quality improvement.”

More information on PaRIS is available here; there is also the PaRIS Survey: Australian National Report 2025 available here and a PaRIS infographic here, all via the ACSQHC website.

^{1. Participating countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the United States and Wales (United Kingdom).}

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