Australian National Audit Office recommendations

12 March 2024

COORDINARE – South Eastern NSW PHN welcomes the release of the report and recommendations of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) into the Effectiveness of the Department of Health and Aged Care’s (DoHAC) Performance Management of Primary Health Networks.

The report, released last week, highlighted eight recommendations for ensuring compliance with grant requirements, for the improvement of performance reporting to DoHAC, improved performance measures for the PHN program, IT systems for monitoring and reporting, data assurance, and evaluation by DoHAC into the PHN delivery model.

Seven recommendations outlined in the report were accepted by DoHAC, one was agreed to in principle.

COORDINARE CEO, Prudence Buist, said she welcomed the report and looked forward to more robust and transparent systems being implemented to support the reporting and evaluation of the work PHN’s do to improve the health outcomes of local people and enhance and connect care to meet local health needs.

“The ANAO report was not an evaluation on the PHN delivery model or the effectiveness of PHNs, it was a report into the Department’s management of the PHN program as a whole,’’ Ms Buist said.

“COORDINARE is committed to continuous improvement and adhering to improved performance measures to better serve our communities.”

As a regional organisation, COORDINARE has a deep understanding of our community’s primary health care needs and can drive reform, integration and equitable access across the health and social care system.

As regional commissioners, we reduce service fragmentation and address unmet needs by working with our stakeholders to develop innovative models of care to address local needs.

“Our whole team is looking forward to working with the Department to implement the recommendations outlined,” Ms Buist said.

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