AMA welcomes deferral of proposal for national registration of doctors
The AMA welcomed today's decision by Health Ministers to defer the implementation of a national system of registration of medical practitioners pending wider community consultation including with the medical profession.
The decision to defer implementation was initiated by Federal Health and Aged Care Minister, Dr Michael Wooldridge, after the AMA wrote to Health Ministers expressing concern about the proposal under consideration.
Dr Dana Wainwright, Chair of the AMA's Economics and Workforce Committee, said today, "The AMA is strongly supportive of a system of registration that assures the public that medical practitioners are appropriately qualified and competent to practise. The AMA also strongly supports a registration system that is consistent across all jurisdictions and allows maximum portability at minimal cost.
"However we were concerned that the current proposal was being rushed through at very short notice and could have resulted in a number of potentially unintended consequences. Everyone in the community has a vital interest in who is able to practise as a doctor. We wanted the opportunity to ensure that both the public and medical profession were fully involved in the development of the registration system," Dr Wainwright said.
The AMA's concerns with the proposal before Health Ministers included:
- Potential restrictions that may be imposed on GPs in rural areas in continuing to provide a full range of medical services
- It was not clear whether some overseas trained doctors currently practising would continue to be fully registered
- How would doctors taking extended breaks (to travel overseas or for family reasons) be treated?
- That the proposal only provided for "mutual recognition" between States and Territories - meaning doctors who wanted to practise in more than one State would still need to apply and pay additional registration fees. The AMA prefers "portability" where, similar to your car driver licence, if you are registered in one State or Territory you are automatically entitled to practise in other States/Territories.
- Additional bureaucratic requirements that would be imposed on doctors in order to continue their registration without clear evidence that this would improve public safety.
CONTACT: Dr Dana Wainwright (0418) 876 747
Dr Choong-Siew Yong (0418) 296 784