PHN News: Financial inclusion, health equity and the role of PHNs
Primary Health Networks exist to streamline health services – particularly for those at risk of poor health outcomes – and to better coordinate care so people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. Given this, there is a great deal to learn from each other about how community members who are socioeconomically disadvantaged access, navigate and experience the health system.
Being tasked by the Commonwealth Department of Health to deliver health-related programs and services to vulnerable and disadvantaged members of the community is loaded with complexity. Primary Health Networks often grapple with their role in enabling access to and commissioning health services for socioeconomically disadvantaged folk and establishing models of care that promote service integration and/or coordination between the health and social services sectors to ensure people are holistically supported far beyond their health and medical needs.
Read on via our two-part blog series on the relationship between financial inclusion, health equity and the role of the health system.
Regional barriers to financial inclusion and health - part 1: the desktop research
Regional barriers to financial inclusion and health - part 2: what people have told us
Primary Health Networks will continue to wrestle with their role in delivering health services that also contribute to addressing the broad social determinants of health (including financial inclusion). We hope to be able to continue to be part of this conversation in the future.