Population Coverage

Primary Health Networks (PHNs) are regional health planning areas that coordinate local primary healthcare services, with 31 PHNs across Australian broadly aligned with Local Hospital Networks and referral pathways (including ophthalmology access).

The following population coverage models estimate how many people each full-time-equivalent (FTE) optometrist services. A benchmark of 1-clinician:10,000-people is used as a practical indicator of service access: PHNs above this threshold have sparse and insufficient coverage (clinician shortage), while PHNs below it have dense and sufficient coverage (clinician oversupply).

The Modified Monash Model (MMM) is Australia’s rurality classification that groups locations from MM1 (metropolitan) to MM7 (very remote) based on remoteness and town size, commonly used for rural health planning.

Again, the following population coverage models estimate how many people each FTE optometrist services. A benchmark of 1-clinician:10,000-people is used as a practical indicator of service access: locations above this threshold have sparse and insufficient coverage, while locations below it have dense and sufficient coverage.