Doctors call for independent inquiry into ACCC's impact on rural medical services
The Federal President of the AMA, Dr Kerryn Phelps, and the President of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA), Dr David Mildenhall, today called for an independent inquiry into the impact of competition policy and the Trade Practices Act (1974) on the recruitment and retention of rural doctors.
Dr Phelps said a meeting in Canberra today of representatives of the ACCC, the AMA, RDAA, other GP groups, the Department of Health, and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet proved beyond doubt that the ACCC has no understanding whatsoever of how health services are delivered in Australia.
"I am astounded that the ACCC cannot see any special case for rural doctors - a case that clearly requires a different approach than that prescribed by the Trade Practices Act, " Dr Phelps said.
"It is total ignorance of reality for the ACCC to suggest that a doctor in a country town is simply another person who provides a service.
"The ACCC must be oblivious to what is happening with medical indemnity insurance in country towns around the nation as high premiums are forcing doctors to withdraw important services to the communities if, for example, they cannot jointly negotiate with local hospitals over fees and costs," Dr Phelps said.
The RDAA's Dr Mildenhall said the ACCC is applying a narrow legal framework to a complex work environment that depends on professionals cooperating and working together to provide important services around the clock.
"The Government must as a matter of urgency order an independent inquiry into the role of the Trade Practices Act in rural health and the health industry generally," Dr Mildenhall said.
"If the ACCC continues unfettered, rural Australians will suffer and many communities will lose vital medical services - they can't be aware of the difficulties in attracting doctors into rural and remote communities and keeping them there.
"Rural medical practice is past breaking point and the ACCC is the straw that is breaking the backs of rural doctors and forcing many of them away from the bush," he said.
The AMA/RDAA proposal for an independent inquiry has the in-principle support of the Australian Divisions of General Practice and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.