Canberra's healthcare system will be systematically rebuilt over the next decade to put patients at its centre, by better integrating public, private and community health services.
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The draft territory-wide health services framework, to be released by ACT health minister Meegan Fitzharris on Tuesday, outlines the overarching strategy for the health directorate for 2017 to 2027.
Part of that includes developing virtual "centres" to provide coordinated care to patients across all health settings - preventative care, care in the hospital and care in the community.
Starting early next year, related health services across the public, private and community-based sectors will be strategically grouped to allow patients to deal with multiple teams through one pathway.
Examples given include "centres" for: rehabilitation; diagnostic and investigations; genomics; heart, lung and vascular diseases, immunology and infectious diseases; and for older people.
"Positioning complementary specialties together will support patient needs, allow effective resource management and administration, and enable cross-specialty care," the draft framework says.
"It also provides an opportunity to minimise territory-wide duplication of services and resources through the use of established best practice health pathways for cross-speciality care."
The framework also outlines how the health directorate will keep up with a growing population.
An extra 70,000 people are expected to live in the ACT in 2027, a 16.9 per cent growth in the population over the next decade.
The ACT health system already serves a catchment area of about 600,000 people, of which a third are from NSW.
In 2015-16 there were over 108,000 discharges from ACT public hospitals. NSW patients accounted for 17 per cent of all public hospital admitted separations in 2015-16.
About 74,000 more people were treated in outpatient services in 2015-16 than 2012-13.
New health centres, like the one for Aboriginal people and one planned for the north side of Canberra, are expected to help meet the extra demand.
The median age of the ACT population will rise from 35 to 37 in the next 10 years, with the percentage of the population aged 65 years and over to increase from 12.6 per cent in 2017 to 15.1 per cent in 2027.
As such, preventative healthcare will be a primary focus of the strategy, with alternatives to care provided in a hospital setting to be explored and promoted.
A preventative health strategy will be developed to reduce preventable diseases in the ACT and lower demand for acute and community care.
The framework also outlines the continued integration of the different IT systems across the health system, including increasing the use of handheld devices to record and store patient information, undertake audits and patient surveys, and supporting the use of electronic clinical records systems in community health centres.
The framework will be scrutinised and finalised by an advisory group, recruitment for which also begins on Monday.
The 10-member advisory panel will meet regularly over the next 12-18 months, "with a focus on ensuring the best, evidence-based delivery of publicly-funded health services" Ms Fitzharris said.
Expressions of interests should be made by October 9. For more information, email: healthservicesplanning@act.gov.au
