I have been a part-time academic researcher for more than a decade, answering policy and funding questions inspired by my continuing clinical experiences working as a GP. How often do patients attend multiple general practices? How much of health expenditure is allocated high quality primary care such as general practice? What has been the impact of the COVID pandemic on chronic diseases or bulk-billing rates? What is the impact on the viability of general practice and the well-being of GPs? These are all questions that I have tried to answer with my research.
My PhD thesis focused on the value of continuity of care and showed that patients attending the same practice and seeing the same GP were more likely to get appropriate care than people attending multiple practices, and provided recommendations for how continuity of care could be supported in a modern health system. My recent research into general practice funding is highlighting the major drop in government support for patients to attend general practices, and an alarming increase in funding towards the already high-cost hospital sector.