SENIORS have joined researchers in calling for a greater investment in GP services after a study showed over-65s had more GP visits, used more GP time and had more medicines prescribed and referrals provided.
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The University of Sydney's Family Medicine Research Centre found the growth in service use was most likely a result of earlier diagnosis of chronic diseases.
Over the past 15 years, over-65s represented more than 27 per cent of all GP-patient encounters, more than 28 per cent of all face-to-face GP clinical time and more than 30 per cent of all imaging and pathology tests ordered.
They used twice as many resources as the average for the population.
The study showed among people aged 65 or older 90 per cent had at least one diagnosed chronic condition, and 25 per cent had five or more.
One in three lived with chronic pain and on average, people were taking 5.6 medications.
"Our population is ageing, and this will put strain on the health system and the health care budget," lead investigator Associate Professor Helena Britt said.
"As we get older and live longer, we therefore have an increasing number of diagnosed chronic conditions needing to be managed.
"The good news is that while older Australians use more health resources than average for the community, our health bill is similar to comparable countries such as the UK, Canada and New Zealand, and we enjoy one of the world's longest life expectancies."
She said a major strength of the Australian system was the use of GPs as "gatekeepers".
"If people are well managed in general practice there's less need for private specialists and hospital admissions.
"Our reports reveal that nearly all older patients, 99 per cent, have a general practice they usually visit.
"If general practice wasn't at the core of our health system, it's likely the overall cost of our health care would be far higher."
National Seniors chief executive Michael O'Neill said greater emphasis on preventative health strategies was crucial to improving the health system.
He said the research showed how much older people valued their relationship with their GP, and emphasised the need for GPs to continue to deliver quality, affordable care.
Mr O'Neill said it was unfair to blame seniors as the biggest drain on the system, and said the increased scope and volume of health services was also driving increased health expenditure.
"Medicare and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme expenditure increases are caused by an increase in services across the whole population, as well as improvements in technology and treatment options and medical practitioner requests for a greater range of tests," he said.
"Additionally, health remains one of the most significant areas of government duplication with institutional, regulatory, corporate and professional interests contributing to higher costs and inefficiencies."
More information at http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/fmrc/
