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Health reform
The following articles have the tag Health reform
Gillard dismisses super quarantine
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has rejected a suggestion to “quarantine” part of people’s superannuation to fund skyrocketing healthcare costs after a think tank raised it in a report that also questioned whether Medicare was sustainable.
Super clinic sues government
THE Federal Court is set to hear the case of a GP super clinic owner suing the federal government over its refusal to allow him to hire international medical graduates (IMGs).
Redcliffe super clinic to finally open
AFTER six years, two bailouts, two health ministers and a referral to the Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission, the troubled Redcliffe GP super clinic is expected to open for business by the end of June, its new owner has said.
Behind the news – Better Access cuts
When the federal government slashed funding for the successful GP-led mental health scheme Better Access, it claimed the savings would go into a bigger and better Medicare Local-run scheme, Access To Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS). But two years later, ATAPS seems to be nearing its financial ceiling with at least one ML freezing its use of the scheme due to overwhelming demand.
2013 Predictions: Dr Arn Sprogis, Chair, Australian Medicare Local Alliance
“THE profound difference between what was and what will be in 2013 is the regionality of the provision of health care and the involvement of communities.
Health dept warns bulk billing not enough to keep super clinics afloat
GP super clinics are popular with patients but would remain “financially unviable” if operators relied solely on current Medicare bulk billing rates, a health department report has said.
Blame game goes on: Qld calls on MLs to cover slashed programs
Blame shifting between the Commonwealth and state governments is continuing despite federal Labor’s promises – first announced by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd – that its primary care reforms would end the ‘blame game’.
Aged care doctors' ageing crisis: young doctors unwilling to fill gap
DOCTORS working in the aged care sector are themselves ageing, scaling back their hours spent in aged care facilities, and are not being replaced by their younger colleagues, an AMA survey indicates.
Hope, not funds, keeping divisions alive
DIVISIONS are keeping themselves alive despite all their Commonwealth funding now going to Medicare Locals amid hopes a coalition government will abolish MLs and restore government support for the former GP bodies.
Hope, not funds, keeping divisions alive
DIVISIONS are keeping themselves alive despite all their Commonwealth funding now going to Medicare Locals amid hopes a coalition government will abolish MLs and restore government support for the former GP bodies.
Two-horse race looms for RACGP presidency
CAMPAIGNING has begun in earnest just days before polls open for the RACGP presidential election, with the stage looking set for a showdown between two senior college figures.
AGPN in limbo after vote to keep it afloat
AGPN has been left scrambling to determine its future after a motion to wind up the company and transfer its assets to a new Medicare Locals body was defeated by its division and state based organisation members.
Mixed reaction to PM two years on
TWO years on from the day Julia Gillard became prime minister following Labor’s ousting of Kevin Rudd, the report card on her government’s health policy is either an ambitious work in progress or a wasteful failure – depending on who you ask.
Sprogis seizes the reins
Interim chair of the new Australian Medicare Local Alliance (AML Alliance) Dr Arn Sprogis discusses his urgent and ambitious agenda with Byron Kaye.
Division to run parallel with ML
A VICTORIAN division won a Medicare Local contract then decided to keep the division running alongside it because it did not believe its own ML would represent GP interests at current levels.
Sprogis slams Coalition pledge to pull plug on MLs
The AGPN’s new Medicare Local body has issued a strong rebuke to Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton after he gave his clearest signal yet that the Coalition will abolish MLs if elected to government.
E-health advent will be slow: Plibersek
FEDERAL Health Minister Tanya Plibersek has admitted the take up of electronic health records is likely to be slow in the first few years.
Medicare Locals' performance to be compared, not GPs: NHPA
THE National Health Performance Authority (NHPA) has reassured GPs their individual work will not be tested when the organisation begins the task of assessing the effectiveness of Medicare Locals.
Questions over accreditation as RACGP holds line on standards
THE RACGP is standing firm on its accreditation standards for after hours services despite concerns practices risk losing accreditation and associated incentive payments once Medicare Locals take over the service.
Patients to benefit from $3.7b aged care package
OLDER Australians are set to benefit from increases in health funding for home care and dementia diagnosis in a sweeping $3.7 billion aged care reform package announced by the federal government today.
GPs may be spared the pain of federal budget cuts
GPs can expect to be spared any major cuts in what is otherwise being billed as a tough federal budget as the government sticks to its target of achieving a surplus in the next financial year.
GPs may be spared the pain of federal budget cuts
GPs can expect to be spared any major cuts in what is otherwise being billed as a tough federal budget as the government sticks to its target of achieving a surplus in the next financial year.
$25m for SA super clinic – that’s ‘$12.5m for each GP’
CRITICS have heaped fresh scorn on the $650 million GP super clinics program after the latest facility opened with just two GPs and no evening or weekend service despite $25 million in government grants and earlier promises of after hours services.
GP division shut out of merger and forced to shut down shop
THE latest stoush stemming from the national rollout of Medicare Locals has resulted in an entire GP division being unexpectedly shut out of plans to join its regional body and instead forced to wind up all its services and operations.
AGPN’s Djakic ‘out of step with reality’: Health
A STOUSH has erupted between Dr Emil Djakic and the department of health after the AGPN chair accused the government agency of putting the future of Medicare Locals (MLs) at risk with its “arduous” and “protracted” contract negotiations.
Forget about Rudd, deliver health reform, PM: Mendoza
THE former chair of the Federal Government’s National Advisory Council on Mental Health, Professor John Mendoza, has questioned the government’s ability to deliver meaningful health reform in the wake of yesterday’s leadership ballot.
Building ML bridges to govt, AGPN's new role
AGPN has been awarded the contract to form the national body to oversee Medicare Locals and create a link between the 62 new primary healthcare hubs and the federal government.
Save our park from the super clinic
AN UNLIKELY controversy has hit the GP super clinics program, with residents of the NSW coastal town of Nowra complaining that the $7 million facility is to be built on Australia’s first park.
Snubbed divisions left wondering what they did wrong in ML bids
THE department of health gave no warning to the five division-led bodies snubbed from the last two rounds of Medicare Locals (MLs) that there was anything wrong with their applications, MO has been told.
Roxon rejects AMA report card on hospitals
THE federal Opposition has seized on a report that suggests Australia's public hospitals are going backwards to claim Labor's much-hyped health reform agenda has failed dismally.
Health reform: full steam ahead?
The Commonwealth has announced a new model of funding for healthcare, but is it enough to revitalise the stalled reform of the sector? Pamela Wilson reports.
Roxon hopeful over reforms in face of looming veto by states
HEALTH Minister Nicola Roxon has denied the $50 billion Council of Australian Governments (COAG) health reforms are collapsing, despite a number of states looking unlikely to agree to the deal as its deadline looms. Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu has signalled he will push for changes to the deal negotiated by his predecessor John Brumby when COAG meets next week on 14 February, while Western Australia has stood firm on its decision not to hand over a portion of its GST to fund the reforms. NSW Liberal Opposition leader Barry O’Farrell – likely to take power in next ...
Pleas for Govt to commit to health reforms
THE future of the Gillard Government’s broad health system reforms remains in doubt amid growing pressure from health groups and the opposition for Labor to prove its commitment to reform. As Federal Parliament resumes this week, the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance (AHCRA), of which the RACGP and the RDAA are members, has called for the Government to stand by its pledge to deliver health reforms funded by agreements with the states over GST revenue. In recent days the Federal Government has refused to rule out dumping its former leader Kevin Rudd’s proposed suite of health and ...
Flood bill may threaten health reform agenda
THE damage and clean-up bill for the Commonwealth following the devastating floods across the eastern states could put the Government’s health reform agenda in further jeopardy, leading health economists warn.The damage bill for Queensland alone has been estimated at around $30 billion. With the bulk of the cost burden set to be borne by the Federal Government, Prime Minister Julia Gillard was last week forced to confirm there would be spending cutbacks as she reaffirmed her commitment to a budget surplus by 2012. A proposed federal flood tax also made media headlines last week. WA-based health ...
Health reforms may be thwarted by coalition takeover
PRIME Minister Julia Gillard has vowed to push on with the Government’s health reform plans despite the probable election of a coalition government in Victoria following the weekend’s state election. All states except WA have previously agreed to hand over a third of their GST revenue in exchange for Canberra taking over the full responsibility of primary care services. But a Liberal-Nationals coalition, likely to win government from Labor, could jeopardise the plan. With a coalition also poised to steal power from Labor in NSW early next year, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey last week said it ...
Health reform law to make GP experience mandatory for new board
EXPERIENCE in managing general practice or primary care services is set to become a prerequisite for board members of the proposed Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. The final report of a Senate inquiry into one of the central bills of the Government's health reforms has called for an amendment forcing the change, after concerns were raised that the proposed body would be too hospital service-centric. The bill stipulates members of the commission's board must have skills and experience in general management of public and private hospitals. But according to the Senate inquiry report, ...
Roxon denies undermining WA Premier
FEDERAL Health Minister Nicola Roxon has rejected suggestions she is attempting to undermine WA Premier Colin Barnett’s continued stance against the Federal Government’s health reforms by personally lobbying his state’s ministers. Ms Roxon’s defence followed questions from journalists regarding meetings with WA Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls as the Government continues efforts to convince WA to sign up to its health reform package. Earlier this year WA became the only state or territory to refuse to sign up to the Council of Australian Governments health reform package, which would have seen ...
Health reform still a long way off
TWO key pieces of the Gillard Government’s health reform legislation have passed their first parliamentary hurdle, but face an uncertain future in the Senate. All six crossbench MPs last week voted with the Government to pass legislation to establish the National Preventive Health Agency and legislation to establish two agencies that will set standards for, and monitor the performance of, healthcare providers. The two Bills are part of a suite of legislation that will ultimately enable the Government to press ahead with its wide-ranging health reforms, including the controversial diabetes scheme and Medicare Locals. The National ...
Medicare Locals plan must tackle inequality: report
REDUCING health inequalities and barriers to using health services should be a key role for the planned Medicare Locals and Local Hospital Networks (LHNs), a report argues. The Health Lies in Wealth report recommends the new bodies, which will be established as part of the Federal Government’s National Health and Hospitals Network, should be set targets on reducing health inequalities and then measured on their performance. “Each LHN and Medicare Local… [should] be given publicly reportable goals and targets requiring action plans to reduce inequalities in health outcomes and access barriers to health services,” the report states. ...
GP groups tell Gillard to prioritise primary care
THE Gillard Government must maintain its strong focus on primary health care and general practice, GP groups have urged. Both the RACGP and the AGPN have welcomed yesterday’s decision by Independent MPs Rob Oakeshott and Tony Windsor to support the Australian Labor Party in a second term of office. The Independents’ decision means controversial reforms included in the National Health and Hospitals Network plan – such as the diabetes scheme and the new practice nurse incentive – remain firmly on the agenda. The rollout of the unpopular GP Super Clinics scheme also looks set to continue, ...
US experience bodes well for super clinics: academic
GP super clinic opponents have been urged to reconsider their stance on the controversial scheme after fresh reports on the success of similar models in the US. Addressing delegates at the Financial Review National Health Conference in Sydney last week, Dr Lesley Russell, a Foundation Fellow at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy, said despite concerns raised by GPs and the AMA over the centres, super clinics remained a good policy with potential to benefit health professionals and patients alike. Dr Russell, who has recently been advising the White House on the enactment and implementation of its ...
Election health promises hang in the balance
GPs appear no closer to knowing what direction health system reform will take with both major parties still courting the support of independents they will require to form government. Labor’s sweeping health reforms, including the future of 23 new GP super clinics and its controversial $436 million patient enrolment and pay-for-performance diabetes scheme, now hang in the balance. Similarly, the Coalition’s promises to scrap the super clinics initiative and increase rebates for long consultations, after-hours work and practice nurses also remain in doubt. RACGP president Dr Chris Mitchell said while it was difficult to know what ...
Primary’s election play: $1.5 million ad campaign, GP mailout
PRIMARY Health Care managing director Edmund Bateman has weighed into the election debate with a national advertising campaign and a direct appeal to GPs to think carefully about their vote on 21 August. Primary will next week launch a reported $1.5 million television and radio advertising campaign attacking Labor’s health record. The confronting campaign is expected to centre on the case of a mother dying of cervical cancer, in an attempt to highlight cuts to general practice. Dr Bateman is also behind a letter that was sent to GPs across the country ...
Students push for new medical school funding stream
MEDICAL students are set to weigh into the health reform debate by calling on the Government to create a dedicated funding stream for university clinical training. Under the proposal, to be discussed this week at the annual Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) conference, universities would receive funding according to how many undergraduates and postgraduates they train. AMSA president Ross Roberts-Thomson told Medical Observer the current under-funding of medical education had forced universities into recruiting high-paying overseas students to cover the costs of training. “Medical education is an expensive degree and to just fund it ...
GP-hospital reforms need more detail
BETTER co-operation between GPs and hospitals under the Federal Government’s proposed health reforms might be stymied by the bureaucratic structures currently being set up to govern Medicare Locals and Local Hospital Networks (LHNs). The AGPN argued last week that using different governing structures for the two groups might cause conflicts of interest. LHNs are set to be statutory authorities, while Medicare Locals will be companies limited by guarantee. The Federal Government is pushing cross-board membership, however AGPN CEO David Butt said this might not be possible. “In terms of governance you can’t have an organisation like ...
GP claims nurse incentives will cost practice $120,000
FURTHER evidence has emerged that the Federal Government’s practice nurse funding reforms could backfire, with one practice claiming it is set to lose $120,000 a year and will be forced to reduce bulk-billing as a result of the new scheme. The news comes amid fresh warnings from RDAA CEO Steve Sant that some rural practices will be forced to review and potentially cut back nurse staffing levels under the new practice nurse model. From January 2012 nurse items for Pap smears, wound dressings and immunisations are to be scrapped in favour of block payments to support employing ...
After reforms, states will still run hospitals: AMA
THE blame game is set to continue under Government reforms, the AMA has argued, with the states and territories retaining too much power. Addressing the Senate inquiry into health reform, AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce congratulated the Rudd Government for attempting reform, but said the Commonwealth needed to take “real responsibility for public hospitals”. Under the landmark COAG deal struck with state and territory leaders in April, the Federal Government will become the dominant 60-40 funder of public hospitals. The states, however, will continue to call the shots as to how that money is spent. ...
Why GPs must not distance themselves from the reform agenda
GPs cannot afford to disengage with the health reform process, despite facing a raft of unpalatable reforms, profession leaders have warned. The Rudd Government reform agenda was the subject of fierce debate throughout the AMA National Conference. Addressing the conference, AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce pointed to big wins for the profession over the amendments to the Midwives and Nurse Practitioners Bill as evidence of what could be achieved by active engagement. GP super clinics and new practice nurse arrangements were challenges the AMA had yet to overcome, and the diabetes plan was “perhaps the biggest ...
Morton to take over key GP advocacy role
NSW GP Dr Brian Morton is to become the new chair of the AMA’s council of general practice after a series of recent ballots for key representative positions. Dr Morton will take over the role from outgoing chair, Adelaide GP Dr Rod Pearce, at the association’s annual federal conference, to be held in Sydney at the end of this month. Speaking just days ahead of the Federal Budget, Dr Morton said the Government’s radical health reform agenda meant it was a crucial time for general practice to have strong representation. “We have some enormous challenges and ...
Rudd admits to hard times on health reform
THE Prime Minister has admitted his sweeping health reform agenda is nine months behind schedule, however he still insists he has time to “get it right”. Ahead of the 2007 election, Kevin Rudd promised he would bring the health system up to scratch by mid-2009, or begin moves to take over the funding of all of Australia’s public hospitals. However, at the weekend he told the ABC’s Insiders program that it was easier to talk the talk than walk the walk. “We’re now about nine months ...
Growing support for GP action group
SUPPORT for a grassroots GP lobby group to oppose the Government’s health reform agenda has continued to gain momentum, with more than 3000 patients signing a petition supporting access to family GPs. Since it was formed at a rally of frustrated GPs just over a month ago, the Doctors Action (DA) group has attracted more than 250 doctors as members. DA president Dr Adrian Sheen said the growing support reflected rising concern among GPs and their patients that reforms, such as the GP super clinics initiative and the move to grant nurse practitioners access to the MBS ...
Patients back GPs in reform fight
MORE than 800 patients have signed a petition urging the Federal Government to exercise caution in pursuing its health reform agenda with regard to nurse practitioners and GP super clinics. Organised by the recently established Doctors Action group, the petition asks the House of Representatives to ensure the doctor-patient relationship is maintained within the reforms. The group has also sent an open letter to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd expressing GP opposition to any policy weakening the doctor-patient relationship or fragmenting care. The group was formed at a meeting in Western Sydney attended by nearly 100 GPs, ...
GPs pull together to fight reform plans
AS GP frustrations at proposed healthcare reform boiled over in western Sydney this week, the AMA announced a new taskforce to protect GP interests. The association is currently drawing together a new GP Campaign Taskforce, to be charged with assessing and tackling the threats and impacts of proposed health reform in the lead-up to next year’s federal election. The taskforce emerged as doctors attending the recent day of action voted to establish their own body - Doctors Action - to step up the fight against government policies, involving the role of nurse practitioners and the establishment ...
GPs already being sidelined by reform
IS this the kind of health reform we have to have? With top-down health reform nearing the end of its planning stage, I have already been bombarded with many wannabe nurse practitioners (NPs) canvassing for business. A diabetic educator at the local hospital told me last week that if I had any difficult-to-control patients with diabetes, they would be happy to see them on my behalf. I can’t help but ponder: 1. Are GPs thought of as so ineffective and useless in the management of patients with diabetes that we should surrender our difficult patients ...
Opposition refuses to show its hand on health
GPs appeared less than impressed with shadow health minister Peter Dutton’s unwillingness to discuss Opposition health policy at this year’s AGPN National Forum. Addressing the AGPN audience just ahead of Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon, Mr Dutton declined to elaborate on the Opposition's plan for the health system, describing it only as a progressive picture for the future of Australian health. “We have spent the past 12 months working on a document that’s full of ideas but we will release that at a time when it suits us,” he said. He suggested this timing would be ...
GPs back national media campaign on reform
Do you want to take action? Register your interest here GPs have overwhelmingly voted for a national multimedia campaign to inform the public of the risks associated with the Government’s controversial nurse practitioner reforms and GP super clinic initiative. Eighty per cent of GPs polled in a survey conducted for MO by Cegedim Strategic Data said a campaign involving television, Internet and radio was needed to inform patients, with 59% of those in favour of the concept prepared to reach into their own pockets to fund it. ...
GPs’ show of protest at health reform takes shape
FAILURE to address GP concerns over the future of primary health care will drive GPs out of the profession, grassroots doctors have warned. GPs expressed grave concerns for their future at an AMA forum in Sydney last week. Attendees told MO they feared the profession was losing its footing in primary health care, causing many to consider retirement or cutting back hours if the Government failed to address their issues over reform proposals. They believe these plans devalue the role of general practice. AMA (NSW) president and Sydney GP Dr Brian Morton said the ...
Viability of health reform could hinge on fate of private health insurance bill
RECENT Federal Government statements that the health reform agenda could be at risk if the Senate fails to pass its private health insurance legislation are a “cop-out”, a high-profile health economist says. Health economist and honorary professor at the University of Sydney Gavin Mooney said Health Minister Nicola Roxon’s recent comments on the viability of paying for the reforms demonstrated the Government was never committed to health reform in the first place. Speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program last week after the Bill was voted down in the Upper House, Ms Roxon said the Government ...
Health reform blueprint undervalues GP care: Kidd
LEADING GP Professor Michael Kidd has publicly criticised the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s (NHHRC) final report, which he says risks disenfranchising GPs by underplaying the vital contribution they make. Writing in the MJA , Professor Kidd, former RACGP president and now executive dean of Flinders University’s faculty of health sciences, said he was disappointed by the report’s “lack of specific focus... on the role of the GP in leading the primary care team”, adding that it was “surprisingly light on detail and on evidence to support many of the recommendations affecting general practice”. He ...
Support for ‘day of action’ rolls in
THE AMA has reacted to increasing uncertainty among doctors over the Federal Government’s looming health reform proposals by urging members to attend meetings in Sydney this week to discuss the issues. Although NSW is the only state to call the meetings so far, AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce said other branches might follow suit as debate raged over possible reform measures including shifts toward pay-for-performance funding models and enhanced roles for nurses and allied health professionals. Dr Pesce said the biggest concern expressed by GPs was the uncertainty of the direction of the primary healthcare reform agenda. ...
GP urges peers: take a day off to fight reform
Do you want to take action? Register your interest here A SYDNEY GP is calling for his colleagues across the nation to take a day off to air their views on Government plans to change the face of primary care. Frustrated by Government policies such as GP super clinics and nurse practitioners that he warns will undermine the viability of the profession, Dr Adrian Sheen has invited Health Minister Nicola Roxon and Shadow Health Minister Peter Dutton to attend a meeting of doctors in Sydney on 9 November. ...
Call for independent body to implement health reform
PLANS for sweeping health reforms are likely to be quashed by bureaucrats unless the Federal Government appoints an independent body to implement the proposed changes, a leading psychiatrist is warning. Professor Ian Hickie, executive director of the Brain & Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney, has cautioned the Government against relying on state and federal bureaucracies to implement its reforms, saying interstate bickering would stymie any meaningful change. “An independent implementation authority with sufficient resources and legislative power, and a timetable for delivery has a greater chance of achieving real change,” wrote Professor ...
GPs send clear message on reforms
PROPOSALS to drastically overhaul primary healthcare services will not translate to better patient health outcomes, Australian GPs have warned. A new MO poll has revealed just how dim a view GPs take of the specific reforms proposed by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC). And expanded MBS and PBS rights for nurse practitioners and midwives are causing the most frustration. Nearly all the 152 GPs surveyed said they believed the measure would not result in better patient health, and of a list of six controversial NHHRC reforms, more than half said it ...
Medical input invited on nurse prescribing
DOCTORS are set to have their say in developing the collaborative frameworks under which nurse practitioners will gain independent MBS and PBS ordering and prescribing rights. In the same week as shadow health minister Peter Dutton slammed the enabling legislation in Federal Parliament, the AMA was invited by Government to sit on a newly established nurse practitioner advisory group. Since it was first drawn up, the Health Legislation Amendment (Midwives and Nurse Practitioners) Bill’s failure to detail collaborative models of care has given rise to fears among GPs that it would enable nurses practitioners to practise independently ...
Nurses are key players in health reform
PRIMARY care nurses are at the forefront of a proposed radical overhaul of Australia’s health system. The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission highlighted primary care and general practice as the vital cogs in the wheel of future healthcare in Australia. Among the report’s 123 recommendations, divisions of general practice would become larger primary healthcare organisations coordinating local health services and priorities; national access targets would be set; and universal child and family services would be established. Other key recommendations include a Commonwealth takeover of primary healthcare policy and funding, voluntary patient enrolment schemes and electronic ...
Health credit card touted to cover gap payments
A NEW “health credit card” that would allow patients to pay for their out-of-pocket health expenses in manageable instalments, should be considered as part of the reform agenda, according to a policy expert, as it would improve the access to and choice of primary healthcare services. In the report, Out of pocket: rethinking health copayments , health policy analyst Jennifer Doggett proposed that patients use a health credit card to pay for approved health services, eliminating the need for cash upfront. The Federal Government, she suggested, could pay healthcare providers their full fee, and ...
Cracks identified in health overhaul plan
GPs are bracing themselves for a radical overhaul of the primary care sector, with the Government now considering bold and wide-reaching reforms set to fundamentally transform the Australian health system. Doctors and academics have criticised the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s (NHHRC) final report, however its architect Dr Christine Bennett has challenged GPs to step up and make the reforms their own. As expected, primary healthcare reform features heavily in the 123 recommendations. At the top of the list is a Commonwealth takeover of all primary healthcare services, including family and children, drug and alcohol, ...
Report heralds new direction for GPs
THE GP’s role as the gatekeeper for primary care may soon be dismantled, and patient waiting times subject to increased scrutiny, under vast reforms proposed by an independent health policy think-tank. The recommendations, which will cost up to $5.7 billion annually and require up to $7.3 billion in capital investment, have prompted warnings that such policy directions could negatively impact on patient outcomes. In its long-awaited final report, the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) foreshadows the end of the medical profession’s MBS and PBS monopoly, stating: “Medicare rebates should apply to relevant diagnostic services and ...
Community input may be neglected in prevention debate
COMMUNITY views and concerns regarding preventive health interventions are at risk of being ignored in the health reform debate, a health policy expert has warned. Speaking at the summit, Professor Brian Oldenburg, research director at the Australian Institute of Health Policy Studies (AIHPS), called for the Preventative Health Taskforce and the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission to adopt “deliberative community forums”. With the various health reform advisory bodies due to begin handing their final recommendations to the Government this week, Professor Oldenburg said the Government think tanks should have also conducted forums similar to those held ...
Doctors will shape nurse prescribing law
DOCTORS will have a direct role in influencing regulations that will underpin the “risky” legislation to grant nurse practitioners and midwives access to the MBS and PBS by the end of 2010. Speaking at a National Press Club address in Canberra last week, AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce said the association had been invited by the Prime Minister’s office to advise on implementation of the controversial measures. Despite welcoming the involvement, Dr Pesce reiterated past criticisms of the legislation – which is now before Parliament – saying it was not the answer to ongoing health workforce shortages. ...
GP set to lobby Government with patient support
TIRED of Health Minister Nicola Roxon’s “adversarial” approach to primary care reform, one Victorian GP has decided to launch a campaign of his own. MO columnist Dr Ron Elisha has started a petition in his Melbourne practice, informing patients about the potentially damaging effect of proposed reforms, in particular voluntary patient registration. Patients are provided with an information sheet and are invited to sign a petition. So far, more than 360 patients have signed, and Dr Elisha expects the number will grow. “When I have discussed the proposed reforms with patients, they ask ‘Why ...
AMA: no policy on health funding
WITH a new round of debate set to be triggered by the delivery of key health reform advisory reports to the Federal Government this week, the AMA is yet to finalise its position on the possibility of a single health funding model. AMA president Dr Andrew Pesce said that, while the association had reached a general consensus that meaningful change was needed in the way health was funded in Australia, there remained a range of views on how to address the issue and its policy remained under development. The comments from Dr Pesce after last week’s ...
Embracing change, defending core values
THIS is my first column for Medical Observer as federal president of the AMA. I was elected on a platform of engagement: engagement with government, engagement with members, and engagement with the community. With the support of the profession, I plan to engage more closely with the Federal Government on health and health reform. I want the Government to discuss issues with the profession because our opinion is valued, not because we must be neutralised. I plan to deal openly and honestly with the Government, highlight problems and bring solutions to the table, rather ...
Doctors and nurses call a truce on health reform
DOCTOR and nurse groups say they have buried the hatchet, agreed to disagree, and resolved to work together for the benefit of health reform and better services for patients. The announcement, arising from round table peace talks held in Canberra this week, follows months of well-publicised clashes over autonomy, team care and the safe use of MBS and PBS rights by nurses and midwives. Australian Nursing Federation (ANF) federal secretary Ged Kearney said that while there remained some predictable sticking points, the talks had proven successful in allowing doctor and nurse groups to identify common ground ...
Network sets its sights on future success
AGPN’s success in securing future funding with the formula announced in the Federal Budget sends a clear signal about its value to the health of the Australian community. AGPN lobbied long and hard to achieve this but now that funding is assured, what next for the network in supporting general practice? We wait to hear what the health reform agenda will reveal as the future of primary health care in Australia. The concept of divisions of primary health care has been nominated by the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission in its interim report and is supported ...
Unis the missing link in reform commission’s training plans
THE Federal Government’s health reform commission has ignored the vital role of universities in doctor training, Australia’s leading medical schools have warned. In its submission to the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s (NHHRC) interim report, the Group of Eight medical schools said a boost in funding for infrastructure would lead to the development of innovative training models for future doctors. “Universities which teach the various health disciplines are best placed to develop multidisciplinary approaches to primary and specialist health care, and to apply a research culture and methodology which enables the evaluation of outcomes,” the submission ...
Reform commission assures GPs managed care is not on the agenda
THE National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission (NHHRC) has defended its controversial proposal for social health insurance as it prepares to hand the Federal Government its blueprint for health reform. NHHRC chair Dr Christine Bennett said what had become the most contentious of the commission’s three proposed health funding models had been misunderstood as a form of managed care similar to that used in the US. While not confirming which model the commission would favour in its final report, Dr Bennett said the “misunderstood” social insurance system was an attempt to put forward a “unique Australian model”. ...
Funding stalemate stalls super clinic plans
PLANS for a $2.5 million division-led GP super clinic in Mt Isa have been brought to a standstill, due to inadequate funding. Amid vocal opposition from local GPs, North & West Queensland Primary Health Care was the sole organisation invited to tender for the establishment of a GP super clinic. The project stagnated when the division discovered it had insufficient means to purchase and refurbish a building to house the service. Requests to the Federal Government for additional funding were rejected. Division chair Dr Harvey Roux said the amount allocated was half what would be required ...
Recession threatens health reform
THE Rudd Government’s health reform agenda is in danger of stalling, experts warn, as the economic crisis deepens and the Australian economy slides into recession. As a result of the crisis, doctors are being urged to stay alert to the flow-on effects of the deteriorating economic climate, with predictions that patients will cut back on medications and avoid GP visits to make ends meet. Just two weeks ahead of the federal Budget, Robert Wells, director of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy and the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute, said primary health care reform was likely ...
Business Council given dose of its own medicine
THE AMA has laughed off criticisms of the health sector from the Business Council of Australia, suggesting business needs to take a look in the mirror before launching such attacks. In a recent paper titled Fit for the Job , the council claimed the fragmented health system was failing to meet challenges in aged care and chronic disease. Among its recommendations was a proposal to establish yet another independent body to “integrate Australia’s fragmented national health services”. While agreeing the health system was under pressure, AMA president Dr Rosanna Capolingua said Australian patients were still ...
GPs reject divisions’ expanded role
GPs have strongly rejected a controversial health reform proposal that could shift the focus of divisions away from general practice in favour of broader primary care. In a recent poll, more than two-thirds (67%) of GPs believed the plan to expand divisions of general practice into divisions of primary health care would not create better links between GPs and allied health staff, nor would it improve patient care. The plan emerged from the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission’s interim report released last month. The national poll of 150 doctors – conducted for MO ...