OMPs Bush Move a Good Start: More Needed
The Australian Medical Association said today that the Federal Government's move to increase rebates for patients of rural-based Other Medical Practitioners (OMPs) was "long-awaited justice".
OMPs have been effectively discriminated against for years through low Medicare rebates. OMPs include many rural practitioners who are fully trained doctors who have not had the opportunity to acquire advanced qualifications.
AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said the Association had been campaigning on behalf of patients of OMPs for many years.
"Today's announcement that the government will increase rebates for the patients of OMPs living in rural and remote areas is an important first step for communities who most need access to fair rebates under Medicare," Dr Phelps said.
"The announcement is good news for patients and good news for practitioners.
"The AMA has been campaigning hard to secure better health outcomes for the bush. This move is definitely a step in the right direction.
"There are more than 1,000 OMPs practising as primary care practitioners who are living and working in rural areas, some as the sole doctor for the community," she said.
"These practitioners have a full medical degree and access to a provider number, but they haven't completed training for formal Fellowship or GP recognition for a variety of reasons.
"In many cases, they had completed their doctor training before the qualification rules were changed in 1996.
"The AMA welcomes moves to provide more flexible training arrangements to help OMPs obtain higher qualifications.
"But government must keep good its promise of a "staged" implementation to increase rebates for all OMPs while they undergo formal upgrading to specialist qualifications for general practice.
"There is no medical reason why a rebate for a service provided by an OMP in a rural area should be set at a higher level than a rebate in an urban area," Dr Phelps said.