Prevention Taskforce Misses Opportunities
AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said today the Government's Prevention Health Taskforce has missed two opportunities - firstly, the chance to get on with the job and prevent the human damage and save money, and secondly, ignoring direct clinical involvement.
Dr Capolingua said even though it has identified $56 billion of savings can be made, we have to wait over 14 months before there's some action when there are already widely-recognised strategies that can work.
At the centre of the strategy is the role of the doctor.
"A great deal of prevention and management comes from GPs. It is incomprehensible that the Taskforce doesn't include a practising GP.
"No one else is more in touch with what is needed to help individuals look after themselves. No one else provides the one on one education, advice, monitoring and management relevant to the individual about lifestyle changes that mean better health than the local doctor?"
"Yet, the Taskforce is flying in the face of hands-on experience. It's important to understand that representatives of the Government Australian General Practice Network are not the same as having direct links with those who deal with the medical issues constantly.
"Every hour of every day across Australia GPs are advising patients on prevention measures around alcohol, smoking, drugs, obesity and diet, exercise, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
"The average Australian sees a GP five times a year so the success of this Taskforce will rely on the effectiveness of the GPs - that's where the rubber meets the road.
"The GPs monitor blood pressure, weight and assess family history and risk indicators of patients and arrange for appropriate investigations, such as lipid profile, blood sugar, and follow up patients for positive improvement.
"General practice is the engine room of preventative health in Australia."
Dr Capolingua said the lack of clinician input to the Taskforce leaves a hole in an otherwise positive initiative.
The Taskforce announcement follows the release today of Government-commissioned research that shows that poor health outcomes from smoking, drinking, and drugs are costing the Australian community $56 billion a year.
Dr Capolingua said that the huge annual cost highlighted the need for better prevention and public education, especially for young people.
"The social and health costs of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use in Australia are staggering," Dr Capolingua said.
"Prevention is a sound investment in people's health and the health system," she said.
The social costs include the individual's health and well-being, premature death and disability, costs on the health system, productivity costs, criminal activity and accident or injury.
Before today's report, the most recent estimate was for 1998-99, with a total of $34.5 billion. In six years, these costs have increased by nearly 63 per cent.
The AMA has been calling for prevention measures in tobacco, alcohol and drug use for some time.
AMA strategies include:
- greater restrictions on marketing alcohol to young people;
- taxes and prices reflecting the volume of alcohol in drinks;
- more education about the harm of alcohol use, and labelling to reflect that;
- increasing tobacco taxes to increase prices - with revenue devoted to smoking reduction;
- ceasing duty-free tobacco;
- increasing public education; and
- effectively-targeting drug prevention strategies for young people.