Australians want a health system that is built on the Family Doctor - AMA Survey
The first comprehensive national survey of general practice patients has found that 88 per cent of people have a usual family doctor and 83 per cent of people are very satisfied or satisfied with the medical care they receive.
Essential Research conducted the survey for the AMA during January 2010. There were 1510 respondents.
AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said the survey confirms that Australians rate their family doctor as the most important part of the health system.
“The health reform debate to date has been focussed on hospitals,” Dr Pesce said.
“It is time now for policies that respond to what patients really want – access to a family doctor of their choice.
“The family doctor is the first point of contact in the health system for the vast majority of Australian families.
“The family doctor must remain the foundation of our health system.
“People want a usual family doctor and they want to be able to spend more time with that doctor when they or a family member are ill or seeking advice about their health.
“The Government must demonstrate in its primary care policy and in the May Budget that it will provide more support and greater incentives for family doctors to allow them to continue serving their communities and to attract more doctors into general practice.
“This means cutting red tape and providing greater support for longer consultations, improving infrastructure in general practice, and more general practice nurses.
“We must build on what works and what is trusted, and that is the special relationship between patients and their usual general practitioner – their family doctor.
“As well as the welcome focus on improving hospitals, more needs to be done for medical care in the community to keep people out of hospital – and family doctors are the key to this objective,” Dr Pesce said.
Dr Pesce said the AMA has initiated the ‘Support Family Doctors’ campaign to ensure that governments and the public remained aware of the importance of family doctors to the Australian health system and to the local communities they serve.
The campaign is centred on a website – Support Family Doctors – and the AMA’s Five Point Checklist to guide government policy around effective primary care.
The Five Point Checklist in summary covers:
1. Choice of doctor
Patients must retain the right to choose their own doctor. Doctors and patients know that a trusting relationship with a family doctor is the cornerstone of quality care.
2. More time
Patients want more time with their doctor. Doctors also want more time with patients. Quality care demands that doctors have the opportunity to develop relationships with their patients, and take the time to understand not just their symptoms, but the whole person.
3. Teamwork
Doctors want to help patients by giving them access to fast and effective care in a team-based environment. Working with a doctor, highly trained practice nurses can help ensure that patients get the treatment they need safely, quickly and conveniently.
4. Infrastructure investment
The AMA has presented a strong argument to the Government that the best way to get rapid tangible health outcomes in primary care is to invest in the development of existing general practice infrastructure. The AMA resisted the GP Super Clinic model only where Super Clinics were established in direct competition with existing practices. The cogent argument was that investing in existing general practices was a more efficient and effective means of improving health care services.
5. MBS that supports patient access to quality care
The Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) has not kept pace with the rising costs of delivering services. The MBS is inadequately indexed, increasing on average by only 2% per year, well below the yearly increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Wage Price Index (WPI).
Dr Pesce said the checklist is informed by the experience of family doctors who provide more than two million general practice consultations every week in Australia.
“Family doctors are the heart of the health system,” Dr Pesce said.
“Our survey shows that Australians trust and respect their family doctors and want their key role in the health system preserved and strengthened.
“The AMA will continue to engage with the Government to ensure that family doctors get the support they need.”
28 April 2010
CONTACT: John Flannery 02 6270 5477 / 0419 494 761
Attachments:
Link to Support Family Doctors website - http://supportfamilydoctors.com.au/
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