Improving access to specialist care for remote Aboriginal communities: evaluation of a specialist outreach service

Objective To identify barriers faced by Aboriginal people from remote communities in the Northern Territory (NT) when accessing hospital‐based specialist medical services, and to evaluate the impact of the Specialist Outreach Service (SOS) on these barriers. Design Combined quantitative and qualitative study. Setting Remote Aboriginal communities in the “Top End” of the NT, 1993–1999 (spanning the introduction of the SOS in 1997). Participants 25 remote health practitioners, patients and SOS specialists. Main outcome measures Numbers of consultations with specialists; average cost per consultation; perceived barriers to accessing hospital‐based outpatient care; and perceived impact of specialist outreach on these barriers. Results Perceived barriers included geographic remoteness, poor doctor–patient communication, poverty, cultural differences, and the structure of the health service. Between 1993 and 1999, there were 5134 SOS and non‐SOS outreach consultations in surgical specialties. Intensive outreach practice (as in gynaecology and ophthalmology) increased total consultations by up to 441% and significantly reduced the number of transfers to hospital outpatient clinics (P