Indigenous Health Report Card

The eighth AMA Indigenous Health Report Card – The Health of Indigenous Males: Building Capacity, Securing the Future – was launched in Darwin on Tuesday by the Minister for Indigenous Health, Warren Snowdon, and AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce.

Dr Pesce said that this year’s report card highlights the tragic state of health for Indigenous males in Australia today, and proposes solutions that will ensure longer and better quality lives.

Indigenous males are much more likely to die earlier from preventable causes than non-Indigenous males and Indigenous females. At every age – from boyhood to manhood – Indigenous males experience higher rates of diseases and conditions that are totally preventable. There is evidence that the loss of status, self-esteem and sense of purpose experienced by many Indigenous men is intimately bound up with their poor health as both a cause and an effect.

Dr Pesce said that all Australian men need a sense of purpose in their lives, and they deserve to feel pride in themselves, their families and their culture. The absence of these things has had profound implications for the health of Indigenous men, who may have also lost their connection to their country, their language, and their spirit.

The AMA believes it is important not to become overwhelmed or paralysed by the dire facts about the health of Indigenous males. Dr Pesce said that Australia’s efforts to close the gap on Indigenous life expectancy will not succeed unless the high rates of poor health and early death among Indigenous boys, adolescents and men are turned around.

The AMA sets out in the report card some solutions to help improve the health and quality of life of Indigenous males, and gives examples of good news stories where innovative programs are providing healthier lifestyles for men and boys alike.  Read more

AMA Federal Council meets in Canberra

General practice issues were high on the agenda at the AMA Federal Council held on 13-14 November. It discussed the Government’s nurse practitioner legislation and recent amendments to the Bill that will require nurse practitioners to work in collaboration with doctors for access to the MBS and PBS. Other issues discussed included the delays to the Government’s promised reform of the MBS, the role of GPs in pandemic planning, and the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s proposals for primary health care organisations.

Medicare rebate cuts

The AMA has received a strong response from GPs to the cuts to Medicare patient rebates that came into effect on 1 November. The AMA website has received several thousand hits on this topic.

If you have not visited our website already, we have prepared a list of the affected MBS items that shows the difference between the Medicare rebate payable for services provided before and after 1 November 2009 and the amount the Government has shifted to patients for each of the services. There are also template letters for each of the services to assist GPs to explain to their patients why out-of-pocket costs have increased. Click here for details.
    
Scanning and storing electronic referrals and requests

Following Medicare Australia’s review of electronic referrals and requests, individual public key technology certificates are no longer required for provider-to-provider electronic referrals and requests. In addition, the requirement for independent third party verification for referrals or requests scanned for storage has been removed. This change is the result of discussions between Medicare Australia and its stakeholder consultative group, of which the AMA is a member.


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