'Secret' Health Department paper poses threat to doctors' right to practise medicine
AMA President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, today called on the Australian Health Ministers Council (AHMC) to make public a Health Department document that sets out a plan to strip certain doctors of their right to practise medicine.
Dr Phelps said the paper will be discussed at this Friday's AHMC meeting without any public comment or any consultation with the medical profession.
"This is another example of a covert bureaucratic plan to add more constraints and more red tape to doctors - at the expense of quality accessible patient care," Dr Phelps said.
"It is the AMA's understanding that the Department's plan will adversely impact on the ability of many doctors to continue to practise medicine.
"If implemented, the proposals will reduce public access to medical services, particularly in rural areas," Dr Phelps said.
It is thought that the 'secret' document contains recommendations previously put to AHMC in an Australian Safety and Quality Council paper in August last year. The AMA raised concerns at that time.
The AMA opposes any new regulatory requirements that would hinder or remove the capacity for some doctors to work.
It is believed the Department is proposing the creation of four categories of medical registration - basic, vocational, non-clinical, and non-practising. Only doctors in the "vocational" category would be permitted to practise without supervision and only in the narrow field to which the vocational registration applies. Satisfying the criteria for vocational registration will require doctors to participate in a formal medical college program, provide evidence that they are clinically practising, or be required to undergo assessment at their own expense. This is in addition to the average 10 or more years of tertiary training that most doctors spend to gain their initial qualifications.
"In short, doctors who do not fit tight bureaucratic guidelines for 'vocational registration' are out," Dr Phelps said.
"This would affect doctors who travel overseas, doctors who take time out for family reasons (disproportionately affecting women), doctors who work in non-clinical areas such as research, forensic pathology or medical administration, and doctors who work for Government Departments.
"These doctors and their patients should not be disadvantaged by unnecessary bureaucratic meddling.
"AHMC should put off discussion of these draconian proposals until the community and the medical profession have had a chance to discuss them and offer better alternatives," Dr Phelps said.
CONTACT: John Flannery (02) 6270 5477 / (0419) 494 761
Sarah Crichton (02) 6270 5472 / (0419) 440 076