Australian Medical Association

Medicare Locals have the potential to impact on a wide range of health care services.  The AMA believes they should be introduced in a manner consistent with the AMA's overall health vision and which is respectful of the exisitng role of the General Practitioner and other community based specialists.   This position statement includes details of the AMA position on the governance, functionality, accountability, fundholding and boundaries of Medicare Locals.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the announcement of the Diabetes Advisory Group is another example of the Government announcing flawed policy before engaging in a proper process of consultation and negotiation with all the key players.

Dr Pesce said that failure to engage in genuine consultation with the AMA over its serious concerns with the proposed plan for care for people with diabetes is a snub to doctors and their patients with diabetes.

“The AMA was approached to be part of the Diabetes Advisory Group, but our participation was not possible when it was made clear that our inclusion was conditional on us changing our position,” Dr Pesce said.

Updated: Sophie Scott's Health Report, 14 July 2010, The ABC's national medical reporter Sophie Scott looks at the row brewing over the treatment of type 2 diabetes patients and why Australian teenagers are being exposed to more violence than ever before

A national AMA survey of GPs has revealed an overwhelming rejection of the Government’s proposed plan for care for patients with diabetes, with just four per cent of the respondents saying they would definitely participate in the new scheme.

The AMA survey was conducted across all States and Territories, and with urban, regional, and rural and remote GPs, during June 2010.

AMA Vice President and Brisbane GP, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that the survey reinforces the AMA’s strong opposition to the Government scheme.

“From day one, we have said this scheme will not deliver better care for patients with diabetes,” Dr Hambleton said.

MJA media release - Male reproductive health problems may coexist with, or represent a marker for, other common conditions including heart disease and diabetes, according to an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Carol Holden (PhD), of Andrology Australia, Monash University, VIC and co-authors Dr Carolyn Allan and Dr Robert McLachlan of Andrology Australia and Prince Henry’s Institute, Melbourne, VIC, analysed research linking diabetes and cardiovascular disease to erectile dysfunction (ED). The authors noted that the research also identified connections between obesity and depression with reproductive health disorders. 

“Studies suggest that the degree of risk for a cardiovascular event after developing ED is similar to that due to being a current smoker,” Dr Allan said.

MJA media release - Young Aboriginal adults have 2-11 times higher adverse clinical oral health outcomes than young Australian adults generally, according to research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Lisa Jamieson, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health at the University of Adelaide, and co-authors compared clinical oral health outcomes of a birth cohort of young Aboriginal adults in the Aboriginal Birth Cohort (ABC) study with those of their age-matched, nationally representative counterparts in the National Survey of Adult Oral Health (NSAOH).

They found that the mean number of decayed teeth was eight times higher in ABC study participants than NSAOH participants, while the prevalence of untreated decayed teeth was 3.1 times higher.

The growing number of Australians at risk of serious chronic diseases from obesity, smoking and excess alcohol use is a major health challenge facing Australia. This AMA Policy Brief, Preventing Obesity, Smoking and Excess Alcohol Use, summarises some key measures that the AMA believes should be given priority in a National Preventative Health Strategy, including support for the preventative role of doctors and implementation of a number of targeted community-level measures.

The AMA has made a submission to the Department of Health and Ageing in response to the report released by DoHA on the outcomes of the Point of Care Testing (PoCT) trial in general practice.

This position statement focuses on the need to adopt a strategic approach to prevention of chronic diseases among Indigenous people, with a particular emphasis on the social context of chronic disease.