Reviewing reliance on overseas-trained doctors in rural Australia and planning for self-sufficiency: applying 10 years' MABEL evidence

Table 1 Population distribution and supply of doctors per 100 000 population, by remoteness, 2015 [11, 61, 62]

	Major cities	Inner regional	Outer regional	Remote/very remote	Whole country
Area (1000 km squared)	19	246	784	6 639	7688
Number of people (,000)	16 864	4303	2085	525	23 778
% Indigenous population^a	34.8	22.0	21.8	21.4	100
% non-Indigenous population	71.3	18.3	8.7	1.7	100
General practitioner full time equivalents per 100 000 population^b	111.6	113.8	116.3	135.5	113.9
General practitioner full service equivalents per 100 000 population^c	99.4	98.4	88.5	69.5/55.1	95.1
Other medical specialist full time equivalents^b	162.1	82.7	61.5	34.2	134.3

Location is based on location of main place of work and categorised according to remoteness using the 5-level Australian Statistical Geography Standard Remoteness Area (ASGS-RA) classification [63]
^aTotal indigenous population = 669 900; 3% of the total Australian population
^bFull time equivalents (of general practitioners (GPs), other specialists) per 100 000 population: based on total hours worked in the past week as collected in the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency annual medical workforce survey. This measure poorly accounts for high workforce turnover, use of locums, OTDs and poorer population health status
^cFull service equivalents of GPs per 100 000 population: approximation of hours worked, based on Medicare Benefits Schedule billing (universal billing system) data of number of days worked, volume of services and schedule fees. This measure poorly accounts for factors listed above and additionally salaried activity (not remunerated by Medicare Benefits Schedule billing) which is more common practice by GPs based in small rural and remote areas

ISSN: 1478-4491