Interview with AMA Vice President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, on Sky News, Thursday 24 June 2004

E & OE - PROOF ONLY

NEWSREADER:        It's been revealed a new patient smart card would be introduced if Labor wins the upcoming federal election.  The Daily Telegraph newspaper reports Medicare cards would be revolutionised to carry important patient information and medical warnings.

Opposition Health spokeswoman Julia Gillard says the cards will hold GP details, patient allergies, and donor details.  Labor's also reportedly planning to set up a regional health authority, a move strongly criticised by the Government.

And AMA vice-president Mukesh Haikerwal joins me on the line now.  Dr Haikerwal, what do you think of Labor's proposed health card with some of the patient's medical details on it?

DR HAIKERWAL:       Hello, good morning.  Yes, the discussion around smart cards has been around for a little bit of time now, and we certainly do have technology to make this happen and to make it work.

Obviously question marks are just about what sort of data will be on the cards, how that'll be accessed and how it'll be updated.  Obviously we need - if you're going to have the cutting edge technology it's actually got to be up to date, otherwise you might as well have your wallet full of cards and your medical alert bracelet as you already do.

The question about whether people register with a GP is certainly one that's causing a little bit of concern.  It's good to see it's being encouraged rather than being mandated, and the - you know, the preventive health care measures are also very welcome.

The concerns, of course, are that if you're going to have GP clinics that are bulk-billing and attached to hospitals, that sort of subsidised service will kill off what currently exists in general practise land, and it will be very difficult for them to access GPs and it'll be very hard for them to then do the preventive care they're proposing.

NEWSREADER:        Yes, some of the reforms are wide-ranging.  At the moment, concentrating back on the smart card and the changes to the Medicare card, do you think it's going to provide significant health benefits for patients or not?

DR HAIKERWAL:       Oh, look, I think that if the information's up to date and accurate it can be of benefit.  But at the end of the day, you know, until we see the details and it's discussed with the profession it would seem to be a bit gimmicky, because a lot of that information is already held. 

I think it's important we do address some of the other issues they talk about in the paper, but you know, this is a step towards preventive health care.  And of course prevention is important in maintaining the public health.

NEWSREADER:        There is - there is talk of this regional health authority and I'm not sure if you touched on that earlier in our conversation, but what's your feeling about that?

DR HAIKERWAL:       Look, obviously we have to have this discussion around how we reorganise the division of powers between states and the Federal Government regarding hospital care. 

Currently within the hospital - within the federal departments there's a lack of information cross-flow, and I think that if you're going to have even more sectors put under one umbrella, that has to be addressed.

You know, we wouldn't want another tier of bureaucracy, but we can see some sense in streamlining the way in which the system works currently.  And I think that this needs to be building on a system that we have currently, and improving it, and moving towards here over the course of time.

ENDS