Australian Medical Association

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, addresses the AMA Parliamentary Dinner, Great Hall, Parliament House, Wednesday, 10 March 2010

AMA President Dr Andrew Pesce discusses the Government's health reform plans at a Press Conference in Canberra.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the public hospitals policy unveiled by the Prime Minister is major reform that must be taken seriously and given due consideration by the States and the health sector because we need a system that will give better access to quality health services for the Australian population into the future.

Dr Pesce said the policy is a credible response to the problems and deficiencies in the public hospital system and is evidence that there has been considerable consultation with patients and with doctors.

“The AMA supports the Prime Minister’s preparedness to take responsibility for health through a more dominant role for the Commonwealth in funding our public hospitals,” Dr Pesce said.

“Upon first examination, the new National Health and Hospitals Network is responding to the needs of patients.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, is in Canberra today and will be available for comment on the Government’s health reform plans outside the National Press Club following the Prime Minister’s address.

Dr Pesce will be in Canberra for the rest of the day and will be available for further media interviews upon request.

Dr Pesce Doorstop:

Time:        After Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s National Press Club Address
Date:       Wednesday 3 March 2009
Venue:     Outside the National Press Club

MJA Media Release - HIGH-RISK CARDIOVASCULAR PATIENTS UNDERTREATED IN GENERAL PRACTICE

Patients who are at high risk of a cardiovascular event are substantially undertreated, according to the authors of a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Emma Heeley, Senior Research Fellow at the George Institute for International Health, and her co-authors conducted a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of 322 GPs, who were asked to collect data on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and their management in 15-20 consecutive patients aged 55 years and over.

MJA Media Release - THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY TO REDUCE BURDEN OF DIABETIC KIDNEY DISEASE

Countries must act locally to reduce the global health burden caused by diabetic kidney disease, according to an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Prof Robert Atkins, Head of Kidney Disease Prevention at Monash University, Melbourne, and Prof Paul Zimmet, Director Emeritus and Director of International Research at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, write that World Kidney Day on 11 March is a time to intensify action on diabetic kidney disease.

MJA Media Release - ENDEMIC TRACHOMA STILL A MAJOR PROBLEM IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

Blinding endemic trachoma remains a major public health problem in many Indigenous communities, despite the knowledge that has been gathered about its control since the 1930s, according to the authors of a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Prof Hugh Taylor, Harold Mitchell Chair of Indigenous Eye Health at the University of Melbourne, and his co-authors conducted a national, random cluster sample survey of eye health in Indigenous children (5-15 years) and adults (40 years and older) in 30 communities across Australia.

MJA Media Release - OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY COSTS AUSTRALIA OVER $21 BILLION PER YEAR

In 2005, overweight and obese Australian adults cost the Australian economy $21 billion in direct health care and direct non-health care costs, plus an additional $35.6 billion in government subsidies, according to a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Prof Stephen Colagiuri, Professor of Metabolic Health at the Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise, University of Sydney, and his co-authors analysed data from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle study, collected in 1999-2000 and 2004-2005.

The AMA welcomes the decision by the Medical Board of Australia to include vocationally registered GPs on the Specialist Register of the new national registration scheme that takes effect from 1 July 2010.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said the AMA last week wrote to the Board recommending that vocationally registered GPs be given Specialist General Practitioner status.

“The Board has made the right decision,” Dr Pesce said.

The AMA is calling on the Federal Government to legislate to allow doctors to own and operate pharmacies.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that co-locating pharmacies within, adjacent to, or in close proximity to a general practice – under the ownership of the doctor – would provide significant benefits and convenience to patients.

“Incorporating pharmacy services into general practice would improve patient care by allowing GPs to lead a team of co-located health professionals, including pharmacists and general practice nurses, in providing multidisciplinary health care to patients at the local community level.

The AMA is urging the recently established Medical Board of Australia to ensure that the new national registration arrangements for doctors do not discriminate against 11,000 vocationally registered general practitioners.

The Board is currently finalising the criteria that will determine which GPs will be included on its specialist register.

The AMA has welcomed the decision by the Board to formally recognise GPs as specialists.  However, there is concern about reports in the medical press of a recommendation that only Fellows of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and some Fellows of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) will be recognised as ‘specialist general practitioners’.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that such a decision would leave thousands of highly qualified GPs shunned and professionally out in the cold.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government's decision to accept the major recommendations arising from the Review of the Medical Training Review Panel (MTRP).

Dr Pesce said the medical profession is pleased that the MTRP will have an ongoing expanded role in medical education and training, and that it will work closely with Health Workforce Australia.

“This is great news for medical students and doctors in training,” Dr Pesce said.

The MTRP is the only body that brings together all relevant stakeholders in medical education - including the AMA, medical schools, prevocational medical education councils, medical colleges and health departments.  The MTRP was established in 1997 to monitor and report on the number of medical specialist training places in Australia.

Transcript:  AMA President,  Dr Andrew Pesce, with Leon Delaney, Radio 2SM

Monday       15 February 2010

Subjects:    Coalition plan for public hospital management boards

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the Coalition’s policy announcement for local community-controlled management boards for major public hospitals in NSW and Queensland is a step in the right direction, but more detail on how the policy would roll out nationally is needed.

Dr Pesce said the AMA has for some time been calling for more clinical input to public hospital management at the local level.

“The Coalition’s proposal is heading in the right direction in terms of clinical engagement in decision making,” Dr Pesce said.

MJA Media Release - Specific guidelines needed to prioritise elective surgery waiting lists

A lack of specific guidelines to help surgeons decide how to prioritise public hospital patients’ elective surgery may be compromising patient care, according to an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Andrea Curtis, a Research Fellow at the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Monash University and Prof John McNeil, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, and their co-authors write that new evidence-based criteria should be developed to ensure that patients on public hospital elective surgery lists are assigned to the most appropriate urgency category.

“It is essential that those who have the greatest need for surgery and will benefit most from it receive it in a timely manner and before those with lesser need,” Prof McNeil said. “However, priority for surgery is determined … by unspecified, intuitive criteria that may vary between doctors.”

MJA Media Release - Call for legislation to criminalise public hospital data manipulation

Nationally uniform legislation is needed to make health service reporting standards consistent and to criminalise public sector data fraud, according to an article published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Antony Nocera, an emergency physician at Dubbo Base Hospital, NSW, writes that systems for reporting the performance of Australian public hospitals are inadequate.

Performance-based hospital funding had been touted as a tool for health care reform, Dr Nocera said, but there is evidence that this had led to fraudulent reporting of hospital performance in Victoria and NSW.

MJA Media Release - Child sexual abuse victims at higher risk of fatal self-harm

Victims of child sexual abuse are at increased risk of suicide and accidental fatal drug overdose later in life, according to the authors of a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Margaret Cutajar, a psychologist from the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science at Monash University, Melbourne, and her co-authors, Professors James Ogloff and Paul Mullen, investigated rates of fatal self-harm in 2759 people who were medically ascertained as being victims of child sexual abuse (CSA) between 1964 and 1995.

They found significantly higher rates of suicide and accidental fatal drug overdose in the CSA cohort compared with age-limited national data for the general population, with relative risks of 18.09 for suicide and 49.22 for accidental fatal drug overdose in CSA victims.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the AMA welcomes the Government announcement of $9.1 million for new Indigenous mothers and baby services as the latest instalment in its commitment to close the gap on Indigenous health inequality by 2030.

Dr Pesce said that every new funding announcement for Indigenous health services will make a difference - however, in regard to overall progress, the AMA endorses the Close the Gap campaign’s Shadow Report, which finds that the Federal Government still lacks a comprehensive plan to fulfil its commitment to close the gap.

“The commitment that all Australian governments have shown to closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous health outcomes and life expectancy provides a tremendous opportunity to make a real difference,” Dr Pesce said.

“We must not waste this opportunity.  The $1.6 billion COAG funding for Indigenous health programs was a good start for closing the gap, and today’s announcement is further good news, but the Shadow Report shows that a more strategic coordinated approach is needed.”

AMA Vice President, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that calls by the self-medication industry for pharmacists to treat so-called ‘minor ailments’ such as coughs, colds, sore throats and back pain instead of doctors could put people with these ailments at risk of more serious health problems.

Dr Hambleton said that minor ailments are not always minor.

“Respiratory tract infections and back pain are often precursors to more serious conditions and require proper diagnosis,” Dr Hambleton said.

“Doctors are skilled in diagnosis, pharmacists aren’t.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that urgent planning and investment is needed to meet the health and care needs of an ageing and growing Australian population.

“Access to medical care for older Australians in residential aged care today is limited,” Dr Pesce said.

“The health needs of older Australians are becoming more complex and numerous, so access to general practice services in particular is crucial.

“The AMA wants access to ongoing medical care to be a specific accreditation standard for aged care providers.

Dr Pesce discusses the Government's health funding reform plan with Fran Kelly on Radio National Breakfast.

MJA Media Release - Hospitals report low compliance with antibiotic prophylaxis guidelines

Many hospitals are not complying with national guidelines for antibiotic prophylaxis in cardiac surgery, particularly those regarding the duration of antibiotic administration, according to the results of research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Timothy Haydon, an intensivist at St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne, and his co-authors conducted two point-prevalence surveys of intensive care units in 24 public and 27 private hospitals performing cardiac surgery in Australia in 2004 and 2008.

MJA Media Release - Drowning is still a big killer in Australia – more research needed

Two hundred and ninety people on average die from drowning in Australia each year, according to the results of research published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Dr Richard Franklin, Manager of Research and Health Promotion at the Royal Life Saving Society – Australia, and his co-authors conducted an audit of all unintentional drowning deaths in Australia from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2007.

Their study showed that children aged under five years still had the highest rate of drowning (2.63 per 100,000 people), although, significantly, the proportion of total drowning deaths accounted for by this age group decreased from 22 per cent in 1992-97 to 12 per cent in 2002-07.

MJA Media Release - Socio-Demographic factors put rural women at higher risk of obesity

Living in rural areas does not of itself put socio-economically disadvantaged rural women and children at higher risk of overweight and obesity, according to the authors of a study published in the Medical Journal of Australia.

Rather, higher levels of obesity among women in rural areas may be attributed to individual-level socio-demographic characteristics more common in this group, such as higher age, lower levels of education, being Australian-born, being married and having more children, the study suggests.

Dr Verity Cleland, from the Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition Research at Deakin University, Melbourne, and her co-authors compared the weight status of women of childbearing age and their children living in socio-economically disadvantaged rural and urban areas of Victoria.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, today congratulated the Government and the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists on a mutually satisfactory outcome from their negotiations over changes to the Medicare rebate for cataract surgery.

Dr Pesce said that today’s resolution was, above all, a win for patients and a great relief for the thousands of people around the country who had faced uncertainty over their sight-saving operations.

“The successful outcome over this issue confirms the AMA view that there must be expert clinical input at the beginning of the process of making changes to Medicare rebates, not after the event,” Dr Pesce said.

The Australian Medical Education Study report – What makes for success in medical education? – endorses calls by the AMA for greater investment in medical education and training to produce a medical workforce capable of meeting the future health needs of a growing and ageing population.

The study undertook research between 2005 and 2007 involving all the major stakeholders, and included surveys of medical students, junior doctors, educators and employers.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the report highlights the high international rating of an Australian medical education but advises that more needs to be done to properly fund and resource medical training in Australia.

AMA Vice President and Chair of the AMA Taskforce on Indigenous Health, Dr Steve Hambleton, said today that RHDAustralia is an important first step towards eradicating rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous people.

The Government has provided RHDAustralia with $2.5 million over four years to combat rheumatic heart disease, which is a major killer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

“For several years, the AMA has been calling for a coordinated national effort to eradicate rheumatic heart disease among Indigenous people,” Dr Hambleton said.

The AMA today urged Australians considering undergoing body piercing to ensure that they are aware of the health risks associated with the procedure and what they can do to reduce the chances of something going wrong.

AMA Vice President, Dr Steve Hambleton, today launched an AMA youth health brochure that provides advice about the risks associated with piercing including the factors and questions people should consider before having a body piercing.

“Summer is a popular time for some young people to undergo piercing. However, doctors sometimes see some serious negative health effects from body piercing,” Dr Hambleton said.

“Piercing is not a simple procedure, and it is also not always a safe procedure.

AMA Federal Budget Submission 2010-11

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said today that the May Federal Budget must provide a significant ‘stimulus package’ for the Australian health system.

Releasing the AMA’s Federal Budget Submission, Dr Pesce said the health system is in desperate need of strategic investment across the whole range of programs and services – from primary care to hospitals to mental health and Indigenous health.

Dr Pesce said the AMA has identified the elements of the health system in most urgent need of reform and is offering the Government real solutions to real problems.

The AMA has written to Health Minister Nicola Roxon urging greater support for international medical graduates (IMGs) working in Australia, highlighting the problems they face in accessing basic community services such as Medicare and public education.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said the AMA has always been a strong supporter of the role played by IMGs in providing health services in the Australian community and wants them to continue as respected and valued members of the Australian medical workforce.

“Along with better access to health and education services for IMGs, we would like the Government to abandon the current 10-year moratorium, which effectively forces many IMGs to work exclusively in rural and remote areas for 10 years or more,” Dr Pesce said.