Models of General Practitioner Services in Residential Aged Care Facilities

BACKGROUND: Provision of timely and high-quality general practitioner (GP) services to patients in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) is essential for this group of patients as they have high medical needs.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to describe different models for general practice care for patients in RACFs.

DISCUSSION: Models for general practice services include the Continuity Model, where GPs follow long-term patients; the RACF Panel model, where GPs provide care to several patients in nearby RACFs; the GPs with Special Interest in Residential Aged Care (GPwSI RAC) model, where GPs provide regularly scheduled services to larger groups of patients; the Longitudinal General Practice Team (LGPT) model, where GPs provide team-based care; and RACF-based models of care, where GPs partner with RACFs. Hospital-based models of care have also been developed to provide in-reach services to patients in RACFs during episodes of acute illness. There is limited evidence for which of these models is most effective. Developing and testing different models of general practice care should be a priority.