Expenditure on Indigenous health (per capita) is only marginally greater than for the general Australian population, and is by no measure proportional to the considerably higher levels of morbidity and mortality, or the higher levels of need that these measures of health status reflect. The under resourcing of Indigenous health is particularly acute in rural and remote areas. Funding through the Medical Benefits Scheme (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) has been dependent on the presence of a general practitioner or pharmacist respectively. Few Indigenous people living in remote areas would have access to these services, and therefore a significant proportion of the population has not derived any funding support from these sources.