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Dr Edmund Bateman

The following articles have the tag Dr Edmund Bateman

New election sticking point: Doctors Action weighs in

GP lobby group Doctors Action has hit the road, this week launching a new bumper sticker campaign. The campaign – I want to keep my Family Doctor – will see bumper stickers distributed to practices and patients across the country. Doctors Action president Dr Adrian Sheen said the goal was to encourage patients to think about their vote, and what it would ultimately mean for their healthcare. “There is now a clear difference between the parties in terms of what will happen to the family doctor. People must understand that the GP super clinics ...

Pathology uncertainty hits Primary’s bottom line

FALLING demand for pathology services has hit the bottom line of Primary Health Care, with the company predicting a $15m-$25 million drop in earnings this financial year. However, the personal fortunes of Primary managing director Dr Edmund Bateman still remain at an estimated $442 million. He was ranked 92 on this year’s Business Review Weekly Rich List. In a recent announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange, the company said it expected total earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) of between $330 million and $340 million for 2010. At the end of the ...

Primary’s patient numbers ‘flatten’ after billing change

PRIMARY Health Care has experienced a drop in patient numbers following a decision to abandon universal bulk-billing and introduce patient co-payments at 16 of its larger practices last year. The company’s half-yearly report revealed that, during the six months up until 31 December 2009, patient numbers had “flattened” when compared to the same period in 2008. The drop was attributed mainly to a quieter-than-expected flu season, but also to the company’s decision to introduce co-payments in just over one quarter of its 50 practices. In May last year Primary managing director Dr Edmund Bateman said ...

New pathology law may threaten patient safety

New pathology law may threaten patient safety

NEW legislation allowing patients to choose their own pathology provider will risk patient safety and waste GPs’ time, doctors and pathologists have warned. The Health Insurance Amendment (Pathology Requests) Bill 2010, tabled in Federal Parliament last week by Health Minister Nicola Roxon, is designed to encourage competition between pathology providers by allowing patients to attend any approved provider. Currently, patients attend the  provider their GP refers them to. But GPs and pathologists have opposed the moves, claiming they will jeopardise the long-established systems between the two groups, and could put patients at risk. ...

Super clinic tender goes begging

THE Government’s troubled GP super clinics initiative has struck another hurdle, with no tender yet awarded for its promised Bundaberg site, despite invitations closing eight months ago. Answering questions during a recent Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee session, Jan Bennett, first assistant secretary for the Federal Health Department’s Primary and Ambulatory Care Division, said the tender process had failed to identify a suitable applicant for the Bundaberg site. Ms Bennett would not reveal the details of applicants or confirm whether there was more than one tender, but local media reports indicate corporate practice operator Primary Health Care ...

$1m clinic grants unattractive: Primary boss

MILLION-dollar government grants to establish or expand virtual or physical multipurpose medical centres are unlikely to entice corporate practice operators, according to Primary Health Care managing director Dr Edmund Bateman. Responding to early reports on the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) proposal to expand the super clinics concept and set up comprehensive primary healthcare centres, Dr Bateman told MO that the super clinic model had already proven infrastructure grants alone were not the answer to creating sustainable health services. “A million-dollar grant would not pay the deposit on what we do in our ...

Bateman fires shot at pharmacists

THE head of Australia’s largest corporate practice operator has taken aim at pharmacists, claiming veterinarians would be more qualified to give patients advice on health. According to media reports, Dr Edmund Bateman, managing director of Primary Health Care, told an ACT Government inquiry that pharmacists were not doing anything to promote health care in Australia, and should not be given the authority to prescribe any medications. “They are not doing anything to help health care other than help themselves in my view,” he was quoted as saying. Dr Bateman was giving evidence at a Legislative Assembly ...