title: Aboriginal community controlled health services: leading the way in primary care.
abstract: The national Closing the Gap framework commits to reducing persisting disadvantage in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, with cross-government-sector initiatives and investment. Central to efforts to build healthier communities is the Aboriginal community controlled health service (ACCHS) sector; its focus on prevention, early intervention and comprehensive care has reduced barriers to access and unintentional racism, progressively improving individual health outcomes for Aboriginal people. There is now a broad range of primary health care data that provides a sound evidence base for comparing the health outcomes for Indigenous people in ACCHSs with the outcomes achieved through mainstream services, and these data show: models of comprehensive primary health care consistent with the patient-centred medical home model; coverage of the Aboriginal population higher than 60% outside major metropolitan centres; consistently improving performance in key performance on best-practice care indicators; and superior performance to mainstream general practice. ACCHSs play a significant role in training the medical workforce and employing Aboriginal people. ACCHSs have risen to the challenge of delivering best-practice care and there is a case for expanding ACCHSs into new areas. To achieve the best returns, the current mainstream Closing the Gap investment should be shifted to the community controlled health sector.
authors.affiliation: Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. katiepanaretto@qaihc.com.au.
authors.forename: Kathryn S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Panaretto
authors.affiliation: National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wenitong
authors.affiliation: Queensland Aboriginal and Islander Health Council, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Selwyn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Button
authors.affiliation: Australian Health Services Research Institute, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Ian T
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Ring
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011634:Public Health; D000095283:Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples