General Practitioner Service Use Before and After Long-Term Workplace Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: PURPOSE: In Australia, general practitioner (GP) consultations for work-related injuries are funded by workers' compensation and GP care for non-work-related conditions is funded by public health insurance (Medicare Benefits Schedule, MBS). This study aimed to measure changes in the proportion and frequency of GP consultations after a long-term work injury, including both Medicare and workers' compensation funded care, and to assess the proportion of GP services funded by each scheme. METHOD: This retrospective cohort study linked administrative GP records from MBS and workers' compensation systems in New South Wales, Australia. The study included injured workers with long-duration (2 + years) compensation claims and community comparators. Primary outcome measures included the proportion and frequency of GP services, measured in the year pre-injury, and each of the first two years post-injury. Mixed-effects negative binomial regression was used to compare outcomes between groups during all three study periods. RESULTS: The cohort included 3170 injured workers and 7636 community controls. The annual median GP services increased from 5 (Interquartile range 2-10) pre-injury to 19 (IQR 12-27) in the first-year post-injury and decreased to 16 (IQR 10-23) in the second year. Compared to the community control cohort, injured workers used 3.6 (95% CI 3.33, 3.81) and 2.7 (95% CI 2.54, 2.91) times more GP services in the first- and second-year post-injury, respectively. This increase in annual median service use was observed among those funded by workers' compensation, while services subsidised by Medicare remained similar across all three study periods. CONCLUSION: GP service use by injured workers with long-compensation claims increased substantially post-injury and remained high for two years. Workers also continued receiving Medicare-subsidised services at a similar level to pre-injury, presumably for managing non-work-related conditions. An integrated care model may provide holistic support to injured workers needing care for both workplace-injury-related and other conditions.
Institutions: Monash University, The University of Melbourne
Language: English
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,790
OpenAlex ID: W7118080494