The Description and Evaluation of Services and Directories - Long Term Care (DESDE-LTC) classification tool has helped produce the Integrated Chronic Care Atlas of Dubbo and Coonamble.

It reveals that the two communities “especially, have above- average rates of hospitalisation and premature mortality” because of chronic disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The Western NSW Primary Health Network (WNSW PHN) worked with ConNetica Consulting to produce the atlas.

They also used the DESDE-LTC to create the Integrated Mental Health Atlas of Western NSW.

The atlases can be found at www.wnswphn.org.au.

The WNSW PHN reports that the classification tool has been used in several national and international locations to map mental health, alcohol and other drug use, and homelessness.

“This is the first time such detailed mapping of chronic care, using an international coding methodology, has been undertaken not only in Australia, but in the world,” WNSW PHN chief executive officer Andrew Harvey said.

Mr Harvey said the atlases allowed policy-planners and decision-makers “to understand the landscape in which they work, including areas of service gaps or oversupply.”

He said the atlases provided a “significant advancement towards integrated care and achieving improved outcomes for all service users”.

“The results highlight the significance of chronic disease across Dubbo and Coonamble and the WNSW PHN region,” Mr Harvey said.

“It is one of the nine priority areas identified by the WNSW PHN in its needs assessment.

“Chronic disease is closely linked, if not inextricably related, to all the other eight priority areas, especially Aboriginal health, mental health, service coordination, integration and collaboration.”

Key findings of the Integrated Chronic Care Atlas of Dubbo and Coonamble include chronic disease service provision is “almost entirely clinical”.

Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton attended a “soft launch” of the atlases this week. 

“This project will help the primary health network gain a greater insight into the problem,” he said.