A sign at the bottom of the stairs which lead to the ACT Medicare Local office in Weston warns passers-by not to bother bringing in their medical bills for reimbursement.
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Despite the similarity of their names, the Medicare Local is not part of Medicare Australia.
More than one year on from its establishment as part of former prime minister Kevin Rudd's health reform agenda, most Canberrans would be barely aware of the existence of the organisation, which employs more than 40 staff and has an $8.5 million budget.
The Medicare Local's mission is to help improve non-hospital health services, partly by getting GPs, nurses and allied health professionals to work more closely together.
Medicare Local board member and consumer health advocate Russell McGowan said the organisation's name could be confusing.
''In some ways the name is a misnomer and in other ways it's quite in keeping with the original concept of Medicare - as opposed to Medicare offices - in that it's about an all-pervasive national health system, not just hospitals, not just rebates,'' Mr McGowan said.
Since it was formed in August last year, the ACT Medicare Local's mobile, bulk-billing locum GP service for housebound and aged-care residents has received more than 1000 referrals.
It provides nursing services for people with HIV, runs a pilot program for people at risk of developing heart disease and is working on indigenous health programs. Medicare Local chairwoman Rashmi Sharma said the organisation was helping local health practices to fill gaps in the provision of services.
''It's hard because when you're in general practice or any of the allied health fields you're a private business and got to generate enough money to pay your staff,'' she said.
''Innovation is hard because you've to to take time out to do that so it's actually nice when someone comes along with the tools and resources.''
The Medicare Local was formerly a GP organisation known as a Division of General Practice but now also embraces other primary health professionals.
Dr Sharma said the Medicare Local had helped GPs develop closer personal links with other health professionals. It was also seeking to improve the quantity and quality of information that primary health professionals received from hospitals when their patients were discharged so that appropriate follow-up care could be provided.
''If you can have an efficient primary health care workforce that actually talks to one another and also talks to the hospital, well then you're going to improve your outcomes to the community,'' Dr Sharma said.
The federal opposition has previously promised to scrap Medicare Locals but Dr Sharma believed the organisations would survive a change of government.
''I think it would be a very difficultly political decision to actually scrap them altogether. But … there would be a few tweaks and changes,'' she said.