AMA calls for better funding model for medical teaching and training
The AMA is calling on the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority (IHPA) to heed the expert advice of the AMA and other stakeholders as it develops a new model of activity based funding (ABF) for medical research and training in Australia.
Under the National Health Reform Agreement, IHPA is required to provide advice to the Standing Council on Health on how to move teaching, training and research funding to an ABF system by 30 June 2018.
AMA Vice President, Professor Geoffrey Dobb, said today that the AMA has provided IHPA with comprehensive funding recommendations that came out of a high level meeting of medical training leaders convened by the AMA in late 2012.
Professor Dobb said that proper funding of teaching and training is essential to ensure that health care in Australia remains at a high standard.
“Current funding arrangements do not adequately reflect the costs of teaching and training,” Professor Dobb said.
“It is vital that we do more to encourage and support this critical activity in our public hospital system
“We need to address the significant bottlenecks in the medical training pipeline that Health Workforce Australia (HWA) is predicting as more and more much-needed medical graduates come through the system.
“As a sign of things to come, HWA has predicted a shortfall of 450 first year specialist training places by 2016. We need to plan now to avoid these bottlenecks.
“We also need a funding model that delivers a quality clinical training experience from medical school right through to the completion of vocational training,” Professor Dobb said.
In October 2012, the AMA convened a meeting of seventeen representatives from thirteen organisations involved in medical education and training. They discussed the feasibility of introducing ABF for teaching and training.
The meeting produced an agreed set of Objectives and Principles to guide the development of a funding model for medical teaching, training and research, which is athttp://goo.gl/6xlmR
A summary of outcomes from the meeting is at http://goo.gl/El2nl
IHPA has been provided with both these documents.
12 February 2013
CONTACT: John Flannery 02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
Kirsty Waterford 02 6270 5464 / 0427 209 753
