Performance audit : the general practitioner function : the core of primary health care

Abstract

During 2014, the cost of providing General Practitioner (GP) services through nine health centres, which is utilised by around 30 per cent of the Maltese population, was estimated at €10.3 million. National and European Union (EU) documents acknowledge that despite significant extension of primary health care services, over time, this sector was not appropriately placed at the forefront of health services in Malta. This situation cannot be attributed solely to the public GP function, as around 70 per cent of the population utilise the services provided by the private doctors. To this effect, this performance audit, which mainly focused on prevalent practices in the public sector during 2014, sought to determine the extent to which: i. Operations related to the GP function render the relative services accessible and qualitative in terms of national primary health care objectives. ii. Organisational and administrative structures facilitate service delivery. iii. Services provided are cost-effective.