Health funds latest initative 'a dud' - AMA
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today that health fund plans to provide lists of no/known gap doctors via GP medical software will provide no benefit to patients and create more red tape for doctors.
Dr Phelps said the initiative is a complete dud and an impediment to efficient health care delivery.
"GPs will continue to refer on the basis of what is best for individual patient needs," Dr Phelps said.
"It is not a GP's job to act as an agent for the health funds. Health fund administration is not the responsibility of doctors.
"Informed financial consent is one thing, but this latest health fund scheme is practical nonsense.
"For GPs to agree to do the health funds' work for them would involve chasing up patients' membership details, the contracting arrangements between health funds and hospitals, hospital costs, procedure costs, anaesthetist costs, and every other cost involved with properly responding to a patient's condition.
"Doctors put patients' health ahead of all other considerations.
"It would be helpful in future if the funds consulted with the medical profession in the development of their brilliant new ideas.
"Health fund lists of no gap/known gap doctors have already proved to be inaccurate and raise false expectations.
"Their members deserve better," Dr Phelps said.
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