Evaluating Australia's “MyMedicare” voluntary patient registration system: the prospective evaluation of patient registration study protocol

Background: Managing the burden of chronic and complex disease is a global priority for health service delivery. Initiatives that aim to improve care integration and continuity to optimise health care utilisation, efficiency and outcomes are a priority. Patient registration with a general practice or practitioner has been adopted in multiple countries to promote continuity of care. This program of work will provide novel, critical evidence of the implementation of the Australian "MyMedicare" voluntary patient registration scheme, and the associated outcomes within its first years. Methods: Three workstreams will address five research objectives. Methods comprise analyses of longitudinal observational administrative health data (Workstream 1), qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys (Workstream 2) and analysis of linked general practice and health administrative data (Workstream 3). Primary outcomes are the number and demographics of patients registered in the MyMedicare scheme, implementation outcomes including feasibility and acceptability of registering, cost to practices associated with registering patients, and early impacts in the extent to which registration is associated with changes in health service utilisation, health outcomes and continuity of care. Conclusions: By evaluating over five years, the proposed research provides ample opportunity for people to have registered in order to assess, the process of registration, the effects of MyMedicare incentives, and the scheme's impact on continuity of care and health outcomes. The resulting evidence will contribute to national policy and international literature on the application of patient registration models to promote health service delivery and outcomes in the context of an aging population with escalating chronic and complex disease burdens.