Hunter residents see their GP about six times a year and about 80 per cent have their appointments bulk-billed compared to 96 per cent of patients in Western Sydney and as few as 57 per cent in the ACT.
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New data from the National Health Performance Authority also indicates the region’s residents see a specialists only once a year.
The figures, for 2013-14, show people within the Hunter New England and Central Coast primary health network area on average visited a GP 5.8 times in the year, compared to people in western Sydney who visited 7.3 times and 5.5 times for people in western parts of the state.
Within the Hunter, the percentage of GP patients who were bulk-billed varied from 70 per cent in Maitland, through to 84.9 per cent in western Lake Macquarie and the Upper Hunter.
Residents of the Upper Hunter saw a GP after-hours the least, or 0.11 times that year, and those in eastern Lake Macquarie saw one the most, or 0.32 times.
The data snapshot also shows how much Medicare spent on the services.
It spent $279.25 a Hunter New England and Central Coast resident on GP appointment, and $75.13 for them to see a specialist.
Medicare paid an average $244.27 a person in Maitland for GP attendances but another $25 more a person in western Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens, and about $339 for those in south western Sydney.
The authority said each area had its own health and socio-economic profile that could explain the differences in the use of Medicare, due to poorer health in certain areas patients received more care from health professionals other than Medicare-funded doctors.
