Examining the structure of influential primary care agencies across a high needs population
The Synap tool was applied to inform the strengthening of service integration across a primary care locality in a high needs area. There were three specific objectives:
- Locality integration - to determine how well the health professionals and agencies within the locality are integrated.
- Existing relationships - to explore the strength of relationships between general practices, hospital based services, and community based primary care agencies.
- New opportunities - to analyse the opportunities and potential pathways for the development of services into primary care.
All practices in the locality were surveyed, with a 100% response rate. Within the practices there were responses from GPs, practices nurses, and practice managers. Practices were asked to indicate how frequently they interacted with members of the other practices, and how valuable these interactions were for helping them support their patients.
Analysing the network:
To interact with the visualisations below click on the relevant link. In the window that opens you can click on the primary care agencies to see whom they are connected with. There is also an instructions button in the window that opens. Click on that button to get further instructions on how to use the interface.
Network across the practices:
What is this about? This image shows the pattern of awareness across general practices with the range of services. The larger the circle of the service, the greater the awareness of this service across the network. The larger the circle for the practice, the more services they are aware of, relative to the other practices.
What does this show? There are four practices in the locality that have relatively good levels of influence. These practices are GP 11, GP 17, GP 19, and GP 21.
What does this mean? The locality coordinating body should consider how to work with these practices in developing locality based strategies
Explore the general practice network in the interactive visualisation tool
Note - the Tool does not currently support Internet Explorer 8 or earlier versions. Click here for a pdf of how the practices are connected.
Connections with primary care agencies:
What is this about? This image shows the extent of interactions between practices and a range of allied health professionals within the locality. Respondents were ask to indicate the professional groups they interacted with to help them support their patients' outcomes. The larger the node, the more the professional group interacts with the general practices.
What does this show? Pharmacists are the most common profession that practices interacted with (19 of the 22 practices), followed by midwives (11/22). Aside from these two groupings less than half the practices reported interacting with the other professional groupings.
What does this mean? There is considerable scope for development in supporting practices to engage more widely and directly with other community based health care professionals. Working through practices that are both well connected to others, and linking in with other allied health professionals, would be idea practices to work through to get other practices engaging with allied health.
Explore the primary care professionals network in the interactive visualisation tool
Note - the Tool does not currently support Internet Explorer 8 or earlier versions. Click here for a pdf of how the practices are connected.
Connections with hospital services
What is this about? This image shows the extent of interactions between practices and secondary care health services. Respondents were ask to indicate the secondary care services they interacted with to help them support their patients´ outcomes.
What does this show? There is high level of interactions (19 of the 22 practices) into all of the listed secondary care services. Looking at the images for each of the respective services (by clicking the corresponding tab) will identify the extent of the interactions.
What does this mean? The high levels of interactions to secondary care services likely reflect the typical patterns of interactions between primary and secondary care. It also may reflect the need for interacting with secondary care to access services. Some of this interaction behaviour may be reduced (hence saving time for both the general practice and secondary care service) if there was a devolvement in some of the services. Placing some of these services within practices that are high users and also well connected with other practices would merit exploring.
Explore the network with the hospital services in the interactive visualisation tool
Note - the Tool does not currently support Internet Explorer 8 or earlier versions. Click here for a pdf of how the GPs connect with secondary services.
New opportunities for devolved services:
What is this about? This image shows the extent of desired interactions between practices and a range of health services that respondents indicated having both the capacity and desire to provide within their locality. The larger the node, the more the practices see they have capacity for the service.
What does this show? There were six main areas of service development indicated, with a range of practices indicating an interest in each. Most practices indicated an interest in a number of services - with only five practices reporting no interest and/or capacity for new service development. While some practices indicated interest and capacity in most areas of service development.
What does this mean? The high interest in a range of services indicates that the locality coordinating body should investigate further where service roll out is best placed. Work should start in rolling out services that report good levels of linkages to other practices and health care agencies. Practices that meet these criteria are GP 11, GP 17, GP 19, and GP 21.
Explore the network for devolving services in the interactive visualisation tool
Note - the Tool does not currently support Internet Explorer 8 or earlier versions. Click here for a pdf of how the GPs see their capacity for devolved services.