Medical Board and AMA join forces on doctors’ health
The Medical Board of Australia (the Board) and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) announced this week that they have joined forces and signed a contract for the national delivery of health services for doctors and medical students in Australia.
The Board will fund the program and a subsidiary company of the AMA, Doctors Health Services Pty Limited (DHS), will ensure nationally consistent services are delivered by service providers in every State and Territory.
The Board will not be involved in the establishment or running of the services, which will:
- be nationally consistent and readily available to all doctors and medical students, no matter where they live; and
- combine face-to-face health-related triage, advice and referral with a telephone help line and online tools and resources where appropriate.
Over time services might expand to also include resilience training and early intervention.
AMA President, Associate Professor Brian Owler said that the AMA has strongly advocated for improved access to doctors' health services across the country, and the new arrangements will deliver on that goal.
“Critically, the services will remain at arm's length from the Medical Board to ensure that doctors and medical students trust these services and use them at an early stage in their illness,” A/Prof Owler said.
