Australian Medical Association

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that last night’s Budget cuts to Practice Incentive Payments (PIP) to GPs will have a double negative impact on the health system by penalising GPs for not meeting new higher targets for cervical cancer screening and specialised diabetes care and removing incentives for immunisation.

Dr Hambleton said these measures, along with changes to the e-health PIP, have the potential to pose serious public health risks and undermine successful preventive health programs that are providing health benefits to many Australians.

AMA President Dr Steven Hambleton said tonight that the government had done the right thing by sparing health from broad funding cuts to provide a budget for tough economic times and to fund a budget surplus.

“Health has generally been sheltered from the budget cuts,” Dr Hambleton said.

The AMA has provided a submission to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) in response to their discussion paper Linked Dual-Trained Physician Care in Rural Communities. The AMA supports efforts to improve patient access to to medical care in regional and rural Australia and the RACP model has merit for further development. It needs more detail and refinement to ensure such a model is attractive for potential trainees, effective in delivering care and sustainable in the long term for rural communities.

At a meeting in Canberra today, United General Practice Australia (UGPA) leaders unanimously expressed concern about the lack of preparation for the practical implementation at practice level of the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR), which is due to be introduced on 1 July this year.

UGPA members have been working tirelessly with the Government and agencies for some time to ensure the PCEHR becomes a reality.

The AMA welcomes Health Minister Tanya Plibersek’s announcement that all 1000 general practice training places for this year have been fully subscribed.

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that this is good news for patients as access to quality general practice care will continue to improve as more GPs graduate and start work in the community in coming years.

Federal AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, will spend the next two days meeting with local family doctors in New South Wales to hear first hand how they are dealing with health reforms and policies, most notably Medicare Locals, GP Super Clinics, and Local Hospital Networks, with a special focus on working to improve the integration between hospitals and general practice.

United General Practice Australia (UGPA) leaders have warned the Commonwealth and State Governments to ensure there is genuine consultation with GP groups on primary health care policy and reform or risk alienating the core sector of the reform process.

During a meeting today in Canberra, UGPA reiterated the need for better consultation and communication about the role of Medicare Locals.

AMA RED TAPE SURVEY 2011

The AMA has estimated that halving the amount of Government red tape confronted by GPs each week would free up approximately 7.4 million extra general practice consultations every year, which would dramatically improve patient access to health care.

AMA President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government’s investment in general practice through primary care infrastructure grants.

Dr Hambleton said that the grants – totalling $54 million this round – would enable existing practices to expand and upgrade their facilities.

Did you know that the RACGP Vocational Training Standards are changing? The new draft standards involve significant change and a move to an outcomes based approach. Supervisors and doctors-in-training have expressed concern about some elements of the draft standards. Find out what the changes to the Vocational Training Standards could mean for you by reading our submission.