The family doctor or General Practitioner (GP) is in a unique position to offer more services to their patients in need of care. Not only does the GP have full knowledge of their patient's health status, they also have the most precious of commodities – trust.

The Australian population is ageing as a result of increasing life expectancy and sustained low fertility following the post-war baby boom. There are 3.5m persons over 65 in Australia or +-14% of total population. By 2056 25% of the population will be over 65. The ageing population will not only drive the need for basic domestic care services but also the need for high care and nursing services. With the government drive to help facilitate people to stay at home for as long as possible - most of these services will need to be delivered in the home. 

GP practice faces significant upcoming challenges:

• Telehealth and home monitoring technology taking away from visits to the surgery
• Online GPs
• Home Doctor services
• Government and health insurance company pressure on fees
• Commercialisation of medical practices into giant corporations
• Practice costs and overheads

A major shift in workplace dynamics is underway in Australian general practice. Clinics are getting bigger and ownership is becoming concentrated into fewer hands, thanks to the era of corporate ownership and the rise of the GP super clinic. GPs are faced with a choice of being swallowed up by a corporate giant or staying in a smaller suburban practice. The drivers for getting big in medicine are persuasive: efficiency, cost savings, collaboration, staffing, billing and accounting. A doctor can grow their business in different ways, one of those is home care. This can provide the same benefits of scale without selling out to a corporate medical practice.

According to Amanda Bryan of MJA Careers, The proportion of doctors working in solo practice halved between 1999–00 and 2006–07, and the proportion in smaller practices (2–4 GPs) also decreased considerably, according to a 2009 joint report by the University of Sydney and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. At the same time, there was an associated significant increase in the proportion of GPs working in practices with five or more doctors, from 35.8% in 1999–00 to 56.1% in 2006–07.

A 3–4 doctor suburban practice does not have to get "big" in medicine to be more efficient and more profitable, it can diversify to get more profitable. Home Care is just such an example of a synergistic diversification. What's more, home care meets an important need for doctors in general practice, to build a closer relationship with their patients and their families. The major advantage of working in a smaller privately owned practice is autonomy. Doctors who work in them say they tend to have more control over the way patients are managed and the way they practise. Home care services can be part of this service mix.

Professor Mark Harris, executive director of the Centre for Primary Health Care and Equity at the University of NSW, says his research suggests that continuity of care for individual patients and a sense of teamwork among staff are more achievable in a smaller practice.

Research shows that there is a shortage of doctors entering general practice. The salary gap between GP and other specialists in Australia is also widening [OECD Health Data 2009]. GPs are being paid increasingly less than their specialist colleagues. Owning a home care business, with strong operational synergies, may be part of the answer to increasing doctor's income.

Smaller practices can build capacity to provide primary health care services to people in residential aged care facilities and to those staying at home. By developing a new aged care service GPs can specialise in providing services to older people, to work in a new model of service provision. 

A company like Right at Home can provide a GP franchise owner a range of benefits.

Favourable Demographics and Trends – An aging population, shorter hospital stays and a preference for aging at home are fuelling the demand for in-home senior services.

Referrals - All businesses need referral services - no more so than medicine and home care. A source of referrals is the greatest opportunity for a GP owning a home care franchise.

Appropriate use of Technology – Care can’t be provided by the Internet and it can’t be outsourced overseas. Technology certainly plays a role in our business, but care has to be provided by compassionate carers – actual people!

Government policy changes – The Australian government has been moving services towards greater consumer choice and higher levels of service. The government’s service principles are based on the concept of Consumer Directed Care (CDCs). This is putting clients in the driver’s seat in making choices about the types of care and services that they wish to access. Many of the government Home Care Packages are provided on a Consumer Directed Care Basis that can be “directed” by clients to companies like Right at Home.

Repeat Business – Clients don’t typically hire us for just one day. They hire us to fulfil a family need on an on-going basis. The case may only last a few weeks or it may last for years. Each client represents a recurring revenue stream to a greater extent that simply being a patient of a suburban general practice.

Flexibility to Add Medical Care – Right at Home is one of the few home care companies that offer skilled nursing services. This gives GP practices access to IV Therapy, wound dressings and palliative care at home.

National and Regional Contracts – Right at Home have and continue to negotiate service agreements with national and regional players for outsourced care services.

Our international connection – Right at Home is a global business that means that on-going R&D and service development is for the benefit of all countries. The global experience gives Right at Home access to huge research resources.

Here is a significant opportunity for family doctors to grow their businesses. If you are a GP or you have a friend that works in a suburban practice give us a call on 1300 362 609 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This article was originally published on LinkedIn by Right at Home Managing Director Daryl Sahli. 

Founded in 1995, Right at Home offers in-home companionship and personal care and assistance to seniors and disabled adults who want to continue to live independently. Right at Home Australia is an approved government home care provider to level 4 and is your local expert on issues related to caring for your loved one. We are dedicated to keeping you informed about home care. Right at Home offers flexible in-home services such as nursing, post-operative care, respite care, assistance with daily living such as grooming, hygiene, transport, shopping, meal prep, domestic services and social support, so your loved one can continue living independently and enjoying a vibrant life. Our nurses and caregivers are screened, trained and insured prior to entering your home so you can trust us with the caregiving while you focus on your loved one. With offices in Brisbane, Wagga Wagga (servicing Southern NSW including Albury, Griffith and other parts of Riverina), Padstow (servicing Padstow, St George and South West Sydney), and soon to be opening in Toowoomba (servicing Toowoomba and Darling Downs), Right at Home Australia's care team is made up of supervisors and carers who are incredibly skilled, compassionate and devoted to improving the lives of their clients and their clients' families.