Digital Health Interventions and Access to Primary Health Care in Australia: Successes and Challenges

Applying digital health interventions (DHIs) in primary health care (PHC) is a possible strategy for achieving universal health coverage (UHC). Australia’s implementation of DHIs in PHC has shown both successes and challenges across diverse populations. This scoping review synthesised evidence from 60 studies, focusing on digital health interventions, PHC, successful care measurement, and the Australian context. Findings indicated that DHIs improved healthcare accessibility and efficiency but still face challenges in ensuring quality care, particularly for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and First Nations populations due to language barriers and regional digital gaps. Ineffective governance, limited resources, and increased workloads further hinder DHI implementation. While DHIs presented high-quality outcomes for the general population and some CALD groups, affordability remains a barrier for others. Tailored or co-designed DHIs for minority populations show more tremendous community engagement success compared to general interventions. To conclude, DHIs for PHC in Australia enhance healthcare delivery but require addressing inequities in access, governance, and resource allocation to ensure inclusive progress toward UHC. Policymakers and healthcare managers must prioritise these gaps to create more equitable healthcare systems.