TOP STORIES

Disbelief at Guild patent

The AMA is incensed at ongoing attempts by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia to patent a system closely resembling the publicly-funded e-prescribing project MediConnect.

Members of the Association's IT Expert Advisory Committee are concerned that Guild representatives have for many years sat on MediConnect forums and are now the same individuals whose names appear on the patent claim.

As AusMed went to press a committee a motion asked AMA Federal Council to investigate how the conflict of interest had been allowed to develop.  It says the AMA should not allocate resources gratis to the now well-advanced MediConnect system for the monetary benefit of the Guild.

Government ignores needs of veterans

Rebates for veterans should be realistically funded instead of being part of an underfunded scheme that relies on the goodwill of doctors, says AMA General Practice Chair Dr David Rivett.

In reaffirming the strong commitment by doctors to ensure that veterans will have access to quality care, Dr Rivett also stresses that the Government must recognise the complex nature of medical issues facing them - and translate this into dollars and cents.

He says: 'Veterans were promised access to a gold standard medical insurance scheme.  But the scheme must be properly funded. The GP LMOs who care for veterans now find the rebates very similar to bulk-billed rebates for children under the age of 16 and other card holders.'

Marching orders for GPPAC

The AMA has welcomed a Federal Government decision to abolish the General Practice Partnership Advisory Council.

The move by Health Minister Tony Abbott will see the General Practice Representative Group become the new link between the profession and the Government.

The GPRG - comprising the AMA, RACGP, RDAA and ADGP - will now consult the Minister directly.

Nauru witness praises Glasson

A Cairns obstetrician and gynaecologist  who worked in Nauru late last year has praised AMA President Dr Bill Glasson for his stance on the situation there.

Dr Caroline de Costa's comments come in the wake of an Australian Medicine report in this year's February 16 edition, where Dr Glasson said  that the Federal Government's recent health delegation visit to Nauru, far from reassuring the public, underscored the AMA's earlier view that there was an urgent need for an independent medical delegation.

Dr de Costa told Australian Medicine: 'Dr Glasson is to be congratulated on his principled and persistent stand on Australia's responsibilities for health care in Nauru.

Demand for straight answers on FTA

AMA President Bill Glasson has put pressure on the Federal Government to give a full and honest interpretation of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

Speaking soon after the release of the full text of the agreement, Dr Glasson said he is seriously concerned there may be opportunities for the Government to tinker with the terms of the agreement to the advantage of drug companies.

INSIDE

AusMed Feature

CHILD ABUSE - OUR NATION'S SHAME

There is huge concern about child abuse among the community and those professionals working with children and families.

As the peak health advocacy organisation in Australia, the AMA seeks to advance the health of the community - and so has a vital role to play with other organisations in preventing child abuse.

In a decisive step on the long and difficult road to eradicating this shameful blight on our society, as well as to end the inaction that pervades many of our institutions, the Federal AMA convened a Summit on Child Abuse at AMA House, Canberra last month.

It brought together over 50 representatives from families, medicine, nursing, social work, welfare, law, police, education, early childhood, State and Territory government child protection agencies and non-government organisations.

FROM THE VICE-PRESIDENT - Dr Mukesh Haikerwal

Private health has earned its place

The private health insurance debate is again in the spotlight with the health funds asking to raise their member fees by about 7 per cent.  This is obviously not the same as the CPI.

The Health Minister has made a brave, pragmatic and in the long term, sensible move as it provided the funds with an opportunity to have a sound financial footing.

Private health insurance is a vital part of our health-provision mix.  The diversity in our system allows us as providers to access diagnostics and many modalities of medical services and in a time frame of which other systems can only dream.

This access also means independence of thought, the ability to pursue diagnoses and to refer more fully worked patients.  This is a major plus in our system - it gives independence, credits some intelligence to GPs and provides more satisfying referrals. 

For both the patient and the system, we have access to a cost- and time- efficient system that produces excellent medical services in a timely manner.

The private hospital system provides about 50 per cent of all surgery performed in the nation and more than 40 per cent of all admissions.  There has been a 45 per cent increase in private hospital admissions compared to 9 per cent in the public hospital system.

The increased use of private health insurance means the funds have to pay out more in refunds to members.

Further, medical inflation is always way ahead of normal CPI.  These are all drivers of the escalating costs of private health cover.

A furphy that was bandied about was that much of the increased expenditure was in medical fees.  On the one hand, the fees charged by doctors have not changed: increased payments by funds benefits patients and reduces their out-of-pocket contributions.

On the other hand, there has been an increase in the total amounts paid in fees, not on individual increases but due to the vastly increased number of services being provided. Of course, there needs to be downward pressure on the costs of administration.

No increase in subscriptions is ever welcome but it is inevitable.  It is better to take this bitter medicine now and ensure the viability of the system.  The other very significant factor in this is a commitment from both major political parties to the 30 per cent private health rebate for premiums.

Not only will this signal a stability in the sector it is incredibly good value for money.  The $2.4 billion of tax-payers money is matched by $5.6 billion of individual contributions.

Tipping the $2.4 billion into the public system would be a double whammy: increased demand on an already stretched system that couldn't take on this load without ploughing back that rebate and the crumbling of the private system.  Nevertheless, public hospitals are the jewels of our system and require urgent funding.

Private health insurance products need to be visibly simplified and good value for money.

This will happen as regulation and red tape burden is reduced, if there is a commitment to the private health insurance premium rebate and the market place attracts more players and increases competition.

Dr Mukesh Haikerwal is Vice-President of the Federal AMA.