AMA Submission to the Podiatry Board of Australia – Draft proposed professional capabilities and accreditation standards for podiatry and podiatric surgery.

The AMA submission points out differences in training, accreditation and independent prescribing between non-medical practitioners and medical specialists.

The AMA does not support the use of the title podiatric surgeon as such practitioners are not registered with the Medical Board of Australia, have only limited access to Medicare and cannot claim MBS rebates for surgical services or the associated anaesthetist’s service. Patients should not be misled by the term ‘podiatric surgeon’ into believing they are dealing with a practitioner who has formal surgical qualifications when they do not. The AMA does not support independent prescribing by non-medical health practitioners outside a collaborative arrangement with a medical practitioner and raised that the medical leadership role needs to be recognised in the proposed documents.