Federal Investment in diabetes care welcomed

Under this new initiative, patients with diabetes will voluntarily enroll with a particular practice.  Practices will become responsible for managing their care, including by developing a personalized care plan; help organize access to the additional services they need; and be paid, in part, on the basis of their performance in keeping their patients healthy and out of hospital.

APNA President Anne Matyear stated: "Nurses in general practice are already integrally involved in developing care plans for patients with chronic diseases, monitoring patient progress and providing comprehensive personalized education and support.  By replacing the complex funding mechanisms currently used to enable this nursing role with a simplified model, we expect patient access to these services to be enhanced and potentially encompass new, flexible and evidence based models of care, such as group education."

Overseas evidence from primary care where payments are provided to support flexible models of care and where improvements in outcomes are rewarded show nurses have played a critical role in both improving the delivery of care and the achievement of outcomes.

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