HEART of Australia, an innovative mobile health service, has teamed up with leading biopharmaceutical company, Pfizer Australia, to expand its GP Education Program with the aim of improving healthcare delivery in rural and remote parts of Australia.
Small rural towns have almost 60 per cent fewer health professionals than major cities.
However, rural GPs are needed in greater numbers and require a broader skill-set to serve communities with higher burdens of disease where populations are dispersed over vast distances.
The HoA GP Education Program provides educational sessions for rural and remote healthcare professionals, including general practitioners, nurses and pharmacists, offering them the opportunity to learn from specialists and network face-to-face with industry colleagues.
These sessions focus on increasing knowledge and skills to help improve healthcare services and outcomes in local communities, particularly in rural and First Nations areas.
A broad range of topics are covered, including cardiology, endocrinology, respiratory and occupational health, with a focus on specific health concerns in rural and First Nations communities.
Heart of Australia founder and cardiologist Dr Rolf Gomes said Heart of Australia’s unique service enables it to work closely with local GPs.
“We are focused on collaborating with them to deliver a personalised and tailored service for their professional needs, as well as the health needs of their patients,” Dr Gomes said.
“We’re supporting their patients with ongoing education as well as providing access to equipment many remote medical practices don’t have – it can be lifesaving for many patients.”
The physical ‘truck’ clinical model is also a drawcard, especially for residents who find traditional clinical settings daunting.
This includes patients like retired farmer, John Lang, who lives in Moura in central Queensland and had been travelling 250 kilometres to Gladstone, a six-hour drive from Brisbane, to see his cardiologist.
“Blokes might not want to go to a hospital or a big grey building for medical attention, but they’ll happily get on a truck,” he said.
“Getting on the Heart Truck in Theodore saved my life. Dr Gomes could see I was unwell. He did an echocardiogram and found I had a leaky mitral valve.
“He sent me to Brisbane for a procedure. Now I make the 30-minute drive to Theodore every six months for a check-up on the Heart Truck,” Mr Lang said.
Barriers to provision of high-quality primary care
The higher costs of delivering rural and remote health care can limit the availability of primary healthcare services.
In 2025, HoA will be able to expand its fleet to include five new Heart Trucks, enhancing its ability to deliver vital specialist care services to rural communities, with a keen focus on lung cancer screening.
Dr Krishan Thiru, Pfizer Australia medical director and Sydney GP, said Dr Gomes has a strong relationship with the GPs in the remote towns visited by Heart of Australia.
“These GPs are generally very isolated with limited access to healthcare professionals to engage with face-to-face. While virtual professional development is good, remote healthcare professionals are starved of valuable face-to-face interaction and training opportunities,” Dr Thiru said.
“Pfizer is committed to advancing health equity by improving healthcare access and outcomes across Australia. This partnership with Heart of Australia and its GP Education Program is an important step in addressing the healthcare disparities faced by rural and remote communities.
“By delivering education and healthcare resources directly to healthcare professionals in their local community setting, we are helping to build a sustainable and effective health workforce on the doorstep of Australia’s rural communities,” Dr Thiru said.
This partnership supports the Federal Government’s commitment to strengthening the health workforce in rural and regional areas, enhancing the delivery of quality care to communities in need.
Expanding access to under-served communities
“Small rural towns often face significant health challenges, including a shortage of healthcare professionals and higher mortality rates compared to metropolitan areas,” Dr Gomes said.
The Heart of Australia-Pfizer partnership is part of a broader Heart of Australia initiative to address the health disparities faced by Australians living in rural, remote and First Nations communities. People in these areas face numerous barriers to accessing healthcare, including geographic isolation, low population density, limited infrastructure, and high healthcare delivery costs.
In fact, rural Australians experience a mortality rate up to 1.5 times higher than their metropolitan counterparts and are hospitalised at nearly twice the rate.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, the life expectancy gap is even more pronounced, with women living 8.1 years less and men 8.8 years less than those in major cities.
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