FEDERAL health minister Sussan Ley yesterday unveiled plans for a voluntary trial of its Health Care Homes initiative to take place from Jul 2017.
The cornerstone of the government's plan to deal with the rising tide of chronic disease, Ley made the announcement as doctor's group United General Practice called for a three to six month delay of the program.
Ley noted that it is voluntary for medical practices and patients to participate in the scheme.
"It will not start until mid-2017 and will be fully evaluated before any future roll-out to the wider community," she said.
More than $100m has been allocated to support the rollout of the first stage of the program, with the aim of enrolling up to 65,000 patients in 200 medical practices in ten regions across Australia.
The deadline for responses to Health Care Homes trial round is 15 Dec 2016 - the same day that pharmacy stakeholders are required to lodge tenders for the second stage of the Pharmacy Trial Program (PD 25 Oct).
For details see health.gov.au.
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