Health Minister 'out of touch' on clinical and policy issues
AMA Federal Vice-President, Dr Trevor Mudge, has branded the Federal Health Minister 'out of touch' on clinical knowledge and on health policy.
Dr Mudge was responding to Dr Wooldridge's comments that cholesterol lowering drugs should only be taken when an individual's cholesterol reading was at least 9, if that individual was otherwise healthy.
"This is wrong. It is a classic example of a Minister who's not in touch either with medicine or the community. He's isolated," Dr Mudge said.
Dr Mudge said a cholesterol-lowering drug would have more of an effect if an individual's cholesterol level was nine, but it would still have a positive effect if cholesterol levels were much less.
"The problem this Health Minister is getting himself into is that he's refusing to listen to independent advice.
"He refuses to talk to the AMA and you simply cannot make fully informed decisions if you isolate yourself from independent advice," Dr Mudge said.
He said this week's leaked budget policy papers showing that the Federal Government was going to strip money from patients visiting medical specialists, from diabetics and cholesterol sufferers was further evidence of 'out of touch' health policy.
"This same Minister is trying to undermine the legitimacy of a five-year study into the Medicare Benefits Schedule - a study his own department has been actively involved in and his Government has supported financially.
"The Relative Value Study is not about increasing doctors' incomes as the Minister knows full well. It is about supporting Medicare by adequately funding patient rebates from a health insurance system that is decades out of date."
Dr Mudge advised anyone who was now unsure about whether they should be taking cholesterol-lowering medication to seek advice from their own doctor about their own circumstances.
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