GP care plans under Medicare save lives during stroke recovery: Lancet study
The results were much more positive than other research into care plans and their clinical impact.
GP care plans under Medicare may save lives, according to a Lancet study of 12,000 patients who had a stroke or TIA.
The researchers from Monash University are not the first to question whether MBS-funded care plans are clinically necessary or merely bureaucratic instruments.
While previous research was doubtful, the latest study suggested mortality 30 months on from a stroke was 26% lower if patients had a new care plan, or a review of an old care plan, within 18 months.
The study assessed Victorian and Queensland patients who had a stroke or TIA between 2012 and 2016 and then linked their data to Medicare, hospital records and death records.
