Collaborative Care is community-centred, place-based approach to mapping and planning solutions to address primary care challenges in regional communities. By 2023, five sites had been implemented in NSW by the Rural Doctors Network in partnership with Local Health Districts, Primary Health Networks, Local Councils, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, and community representatives.
NSW Health commissioned the Sax Institute to undertake a scalability assessment of the Collaborative Care model with the aim of identifying critical factors for success, and how NSW Health could best support future Collaborative Care sites. The scalability assessment included a literature review and stakeholder consultations. The learnings of the scalability assessment are being applied through the current expansion of Collaborative Care into five new sites from 2024.