General practice misses out in Budget
Chair of the AMA Council of General Practice, Dr David Rivett, said today that General Practice failed to get a guernsey in the Federal Health Budget.
Dr Rivett said he was appalled that the Government ignored two years of work aimed at reducing red tape in General Practice, including the Productivity Commission's recommendations in its 2003 GP Administrative and Compliance Costs report.
"It seems the Government expects GPs to continue to bear the unacceptable costs associated with red tape, conservatively estimated at $13,000 per year per GP.
"An AMA survey found that 52 per cent of GPs spend between five and 10 hours a week doing paperwork, with 20 per cent spending 10 hours, and 13 per cent spending 11 hours or more.
"This is time that would be better spent providing care to patients.
"Red tape is exacerbating the medical workforce shortage. It turns young doctors away from general practice to other specialties. It cuts into the consultation time available to patients.
"The work of the Government's Red Tape Taskforce and months of consultations with GP groups have come to nothing.
"The promise of further consultation on red tape issues is fine, but it will do nothing to reduce the bureaucratic burden on GPs in the short term," Dr Rivett said.
Dr Rivett said the Budget was a missed opportunity to abolish blended payments and introduce the 7-tier GP consultation item structure recommended by the Attendance Item Restructure Working Group.
"While an interim measure to radically redesign red tape-heavy programs such as the practice incentive program is acceptable, there must be a commitment to implement the 7-tier structure sooner rather than later," Dr Rivett said.
"This new structure rewards quality care while the current Medicare Benefits Schedule rewards shorter consultations."
Dr Rivett said the AMA maintains its strong opposition to prescription authorities and Centrelink forms, saying they put time-wasting bureaucratic hurdles in the way of quality patient care.
CONTACT: John Flannery (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761
Judith Tokley (02) 6270 5471 / (0408) 824 306