Reducing the burden on hospital emergency departments
Purpose
We were engaged to co-design the Wrap Around Primary Care for FrequentHospital Users Program as part of the Australian Government's StrengtheningMedicare reform package. This new program aimed to reduce the burden onhospital emergency departments while improving patient health outcomes throughincentivising general practices to provide comprehensive care for patients withchronic conditions.
Approach
We designed a series of interconnected events over a period of 12 weeks to co-design key components of the future program. Each event was designed to build upon the insights and topics from the previous sessions, creating a cohesive and cumulative experience for stakeholders. The series included webinars, consumer roundtables and multi-day workshops attended by more than 70 health sector stakeholders including Primary Health Networks, Local Hospital Networks, hospitals, RACGP, ACRRM, government representatives, primary care providers and patients. A separate roundtable was also held with around 40 healthcare consumers.
Highly interactive co-design activities, guided by skilled facilitators in small group settings, drew out stakeholder insights rather than simply imparting information. Visual records of the workshops were created and shared so participants could see how their contributions were shaping the design of the Program.
Outcome
We captured the insights that emerged from this co-design process in a detailed Design Report. The Report contained recommendations on key components of the program, including patient eligibility criteria, rollout strategy, payment arrangements and budget envelope.
The Report and recommendation were accepted and formed the basis of the Program. The series generated significant stakeholder buy-in for the new program, with many commenting they “genuinely valued the Department's commitment to co-design and willingness to adapt and build on lessons learned from previous initiatives/programs”.
Client
Department of Health and Aged Care