Developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the PaRIS survey is the first of its kind to collect feedback directly from patients with chronic conditions, aged 45 and over, across 19 countries, including nearly 2,400 patients from 54 general practices in Australia.

The study aimed to understand patients' point of view about:

• Their experience with primary care
• Their health outcomes, and
• How they access health information and services

PaRIS uniquely fed back patients responses to their GP practices. This enabled practices to examine the results of their patient cohort and use the data to improve care. It’s a powerful tool for identifying strengths and opportunities in how we deliver care in the community.

Key insights from the report

• Australia performed well across all 10 health measures - better than or close to the OECD average
• We were in the top five in quality of care, coordination of care, person-centred care and physical health
• There is room for improvement in areas of mental health, well-being and social functioning (how well patients perform activities and responsibilities).

Why is this report important

The results of the report will help:

• policy makers by providing better information on where to focus quality improvement efforts and prioritise spending
• healthcare providers by giving them a clearer understanding of how to improve the quality of the care they provide; and
• most importantly, patients, by enabling them have their voices heard to help shape the way care is delivered in the future.