Strengthening Medicare report welcome but immediate action needed to help general practice
The President held a press conference to call for immediate action to address access and affordability issues in general practice. While the AMA has welcomed reforms in the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report, the Minister must take immediate action to support patient access to GPs.
The President held a press conference to call for immediate action to address access and affordability issues in general practice. While the AMA has welcomed reforms in the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report, the Minister must take immediate action to support patient access to GPs.
The AMA last week welcomed the release of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report and many of the reforms it contains, but said immediate action was needed to resolve critical issues in general practice.
Professor President Professor Steve Robson told a press conference the report contained good long-term initiatives that would strengthen Medicare over many years.
“Problem is there is absolutely nothing in the report released today that will allow Australians, who are struggling to see a GP or struggling to afford a GP, (to) see that GP any more quickly, any more affordably,” Professor Robson told a doorstop media interview at Parliament House, Canberra.
“We know the budget is coming in May and Australians expect that this is going to be a health budget. That is what they need, what they want to see. And we have seen the Prime Minister and the premiers, and the chief ministers acknowledge that health is one of the highest priorities of the National Cabinet, we are just a little surprised not to see that today.”
Meanwhile, AMA ACT President-elect Dr Kerrie Aust spoke at the National Press Club this week. Dr Aust spoke about the important role GPs play in chronic disease prevention and treatment, and the need for Medicare funded multidisciplinary GP-led team-based care. She also told the audience of the importance of an ongoing relationship between GPs and patients and continuity of care, providing an example of the teenagers who she has seen throughout their lives and the trusted role GPs can play as “a safe place to come when they are not ok”.
Professor Robson and Vice President Dr McMullen were also out in the media on pharmacy prescribing, saying that allowing pharmacists to prescribe medicines would do nothing to address GP shortages and would saddle patients with more out-of-pocket costs.
The Daily Telegraph reported that thanks to pharmacy prescribing trials people could be paying as much as $55 to get a script under changes allowing pharmacist to prescribe as well as dispense medicines.
The newspaper said patients would have to pay the full price of any medicine because rules only allow a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidy for medicines prescribed by doctors, nurse practitioners, dentists and midwives.
The Pharmacy Guild would not comment on fees for pharmacy prescribing or whether it would be asking for a Medicare rebate.
Professor Robson said, “The public don’t understand that moving to pharmacy prescribing will not only not make it any easier to see a GP, but it will cost them more”.
