The Productivity Commission has recommended sweeping changes to the healthcare sector and the way that pharmacies are run.

On healthcare, it says governments should do more to cooperate and remove the current messy, partial and duplicated presentation of information and data.

The commission says providers should find ways to improve access to healthcare data for themselves, researchers and consumers.

It suggests linking hospital funding to early adoption of integrated electronic medical records would be a good start.

The commission's latest report also says the healthcare system should be revamped, with a focus on the principles of patient-centred care.

This would be done by measuring and recording people’s experience of the healthcare system, and publishing the results so clinicians, hospitals and patients can see how the system works at a grassroots level.

On pharmacies, the report says the federal government should move away from community pharmacies as a way to dispense medicines.

The Productivity Commission says Australia would be better served by a model that can anticipate automatic dispensing in most locations, with a qualified person acting primarily as a supervisor.