The AMA has called for health policy to be the top priority in this Federal election. Each week the AMA President will give his views on the different health policies of the major parties throughout the 2010 election.

Please join in the conversation on health and let us know your views. You can comment via the President’s blog on the AMA's website

Coalition health policy – strong initiatives to stimulate the health debate

The AMA welcomes the Coalition’s health policy, which will stimulate debate and bring the health policy bidding war alive in this election campaign.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said yesterday that the Coalition has made some strong commitments on hospital beds, support for GPs, and clinician involvement in hospital governance arrangements through community boards, all of which are consistent with AMA policy.  Read more

Misleading claims about vaccination putting Australian lives at risk

AMA Vice President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said this week that the AMA is greatly concerned that groups that are promoting discredited theories about immunisation are exposing Australians to the devastating effects of preventable illnesses.  Read more

General practice lobby kit

The AMA has prepared a kit  for GPs who want to lobby parliamentarians to bring issues affecting doctors and their patients to their attention. The kit is intended to be useful during and after the election campaign and will be updated from time to time.  Find out more

Support Family Doctors campaign materials

The AMA is running a patient petition urging the major parties to produce policies that preserve and promote general practice as the quality front line in primary care.

We would like medical practices around the country to display our Support Family Doctors poster, distribute our Support Family Doctors brochure, and encourage your patients to sign our Support Family Doctors petition. The signed petitions will be sent to Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott prior to election day on 21 August.

You may choose to print the Support Family Doctors poster and brochures in colour in your practice or you can order copies by emailing memberservices@ama.com.au with your name and address. A set of materials will be sent to you as soon as possible.

Links to the Support Family Doctors campaign materials are below:

• Family medicine is running out of time! – poster
• Family medicine is running out of time! – pamphlet
• Support family doctors: the heart of health – petition

PIP teaching incentive for supervising medical students

A recent clarification of the PIP teaching incentive guidelines by the Department of Health and Ageing has led to suggestions that the incentive has been cut. The incentive pays practices $100 for each GP-supervised three hour training session. Each practice can claim a maximum of two training sessions per GP per day. There is a preference that for the purposes of a quality training experience only one student per supervisor will be present for a session. 

Contrary to some media reports, there has been no change to the calculation of the incentive. Practices are entitled to $100 per training session, regardless of the number of students present.

If you have any concerns on this issue, please contact the AMA at generalpractice@ama.com.au