Team-Based Care To Address Medical Workforce Shortages: AMA Puts 'Medical Dream Team' Plan To Politicians
AMA President, Dr Mukesh Haikerwal, today urged Federal politicians to reject plans by State Governments, COAG and the Productivity Commission to substitute doctors with lesser-trained health workers.
Addressing a breakfast meeting of MPs and Senators at Parliament House in Canberra, Dr Haikerwal put the case for team-based care under the direction of doctors - 'the medical dream team'.
Health Minister, Tony Abbott, and Shadow Health Minister, Julia Gillard, were in attendance.
Dr Haikerwal said that some State Governments and COAG are keen to fill medical workforce gaps with non-medical people.
"The AMA is totally opposed to this concept," Dr Haikerwal said.
"Some have accused us of 'turf protection'. I can tell you it is not 'turf protection', it is 'patient protection'.
"All Australians - no matter their means or where they live - deserve to be able to get to see a doctor when they need one.
"They demand and need a medical diagnosis from a registered medical practitioner.
"There must be equal access to the best possible health care, and the gateway to that care has to be the local family doctor - the GP.
"GPs are highly trained, they are skilled at diagnosis, and they are skilled at managing simple, complex and chronic health conditions.
"They can detect what is abnormal in a patient's health and then help them negotiate the healthcare maze.
"If your health requires particular expertise, your GP will help you see a health professional with the most appropriate skills for your condition.
'The AMA team-based care model - the medical dream team - is both practical and affordable.
"The models being put forward by COAG, the Productivity Commission, and the States are based on substitution - somebody else taking the place of a doctor.
"They want somebody other than a doctor to perform what they term 'low risk' or 'normal' tasks. Where human life is concerned, there is no such thing as 'low risk' or 'normal'.
"A doctor is trained to expect the unexpected and detect the otherwise undetected. These skills are a long time in the making and the acquiring.
"The question for patients is: who would you prefer to read and interpret your X-rays or analyse and explain your pathology results?
"The answer is 'my doctor' and the experts he or she can call on.
"The AMA dream team model is a collaborative model designed to deliver the best medical care to patients.
"It is all about flexibility - a sharing of duties based on skills and experience - but the ultimate responsibility of patient care rests with the team leader - the doctor.
"We have to find the way to overcome the tyrannies of distance and isolation to ensure equity and fairness in health care for all Australians.
"And we have to be realistic. We can't have every member of a medical dream team in the same place at the same time.
"That is just not possible in rural and remote areas. It is not even possible in some outer metropolitan areas.
"But we can have systems whereby each member of the team - the GP, the nurse, the specialists and the allied health workers - can tap into the expertise of the other team members to provide the best possible care for each and every patient.
"We will need to embrace new and emerging technologies to make team-based care work in all settings - especially in rural and remote areas," Dr Haikerwal said.
Dr Haikerwal said that rather than going down the substitution path, the focus should be on addressing shortages in nursing and allied health professions as well.
"What the substitution advocates forget is that the medical workforce shortage is also a health workforce shortage. There are not enough substitutes to fill the substitutes bench."