A program that sees highly skilled nurse practitioners prescribing medication – taking pressure of the state’s emergency departments – has been expanded.

The nurse practitioners – who have extensive post-graduate clinical experience and have completed mandatory prescribed education at a Masters level – can assess and diagnose patients, request and interpret tests, prescribe therapies and medications, and receive and make referrals to other health practitioners.

The $2.6 million Nurse Practitioner Primary Care pilot is part of a $10 million Federal Government investment to help South Australia develop new ways to improve access to primary care and reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments.

The State Government has partnered with the Adelaide Primary Health Network to deliver this pilot in metropolitan Adelaide, and three nurse practitioners have already been placed – one in the west at the Old Port Road Medical and Dental Centre at Royal Park, one in the north at the Angle Vale Medical Centre and another at Reynella Family Care in the south.

The service is free of charge and has already improved health care access, with more than 1450 patients seen by the new nurse practitioners in the past five months as they’ve been rolled out.

A further two nurse practitioners will be placed in regional South Australia, with recruitment for roles at the Robe and Ceduna medical practices currently underway.

The overall $10 million funding package has also expanded South Australia’s healthdirect services with the introduction of the GP Extension Service and the Consumer Front Door.

The GP Extension Service, combined with the existing afterhours service, connects people to a virtual GP 24/7 when they require urgent medical treatment or advice and are unable to access their usual GP.

Since the service was introduced in July 2023, more than 5300 people have been connected to a virtual GP appointment, with 85 per cent of callers provided with a safe alternative treatment option in the community, avoiding an ED presentation.

Introduced in October 2023, the Consumer Front Door through healthdirect is available to people with urgent, but non-life-threatening health care needs.

Operating between 9am to 9pm daily, the caller is transferred to a South Australia-based virtual care service for assessment and management and, when required, referred to a face-to-face service for further treatment.

South Australians can access these services by calling the free healthdirect hotline on 1800 022 222.

SA Health's Acting Director of Integrated Care Systems and Clinical System Support & Improvement Cassandra Ryan said highly trained and skilled nurse practitioners already provided care for thousands of people in a range of health settings and services.

"This program provides free nurse practitioner care in general practices, which is helping more people to access high quality, timely health care for their chronic and complex care needs," Ms Ryan said.

"These combined services provide South Australians with more options to receive the accessible and affordable care they need and deserve, closer to home."