It also found that hospitalisation rates for several common medical procedures were lower for people living in remote areas than for those living in major cities.

"Examples include medical procedures for heart disease management, such as coronary artery bypass graft," said report author Sally Bullock.

"This finding is particularly noteworthy as death rates from coronary heart disease were up to 40pc higher in remote areas compared to cities."

But the report, Rural, regional and remote health: indicators of health system performance, found data on health system performance in rural Australia painted a mixed picture.

In general, the number of medical specialists and dentists per head of population decreased with remoteness, but their working hours increased.

On the other hand, the supply of nurses and primary care doctors was more evenly spread across regions.

"Another interesting finding was that people with disability living outside major cities were significantly less likely to access disability support services than those living within major cities," Ms Bullock said.