Table 2. Assessment of Australian Regional PHC Organisations to Determine How Comprehensive They Are .

CPHC Criteria	Study of Australian PHC Organisations
	MLs (2011-2014)	Score	PHNs (2015-Current)	Score
Focus on population health	Mandate to develop population health plans for the region Focus on access to medical services Some evidence of prevention and health promotion activities	2.5	Mandate to develop ‘work activity plans’ in specific areas identified by the federal government eg, mental health, drug and alcohol, integrated care Focus on access to medical services through commissioning processes Little evidence of prevention and health promotion activities	1.5
Focus on equity of access and outcomes	Strong focus on equity of access to medical services Targeting selected population groups in need Collection of population data on equity and social determinants of health Some examples of actions on social determinants of health	3	Commissioning organisation with a sole focus on improved access to medical services Very little evidence of action on social determinants of health	1.5
Community participation and control	Community consultations for needs assessments Community advisory groups in some MLs Low level of community representation on board No community feedback mechanisms	2.5	Community consultations for needs assessment Mandatory structure of community advisory council on governance Low level of community representation on board No community feedback mechanisms	2.5
Integration within the broader health system	Good evidence of working with state level LHNs and tertiary care Some evidence of joint planning and resource sharing	2	Greater emphasis on working with LHNs and tertiary care (efforts to align boundaries) Some evidence of joint planning and resource sharing	3
Inter-sectoral collaboration	Some limited evidence of working with non-health sectors such as local government, housing and transport	3	Little evidence of partnership with non-health sectors to address social determinants of health	1
Local responsiveness	Centrally managed programs, but with some evidence of funding flexibility and capacity for locally tailored programs	3	Little evidence of funding flexibility, reduction in flexible funding pool Centrally managed programs Little capacity for locally tailored programs	1.5

Abbreviations: CPHC, comprehensive primary healthcare; PHC, primary healthcare; MLs, Medicare Locals; LHNs, local health networks; PHNs, primary health networks.