RACGP cautions Reforms to Medicare must help doctors take care of their patients.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is warning that any changes to Medicare must support GP stewardship of patient care, which has been shown to improve patient ’ health and well-being.

It comes after reports in the media that the Albanese Government is working on a plan to let other health professionals help with primary care. The plan involves a new funding model that pays nurses and other health professionals who work in teams to give complex care.

The RACGP, which is the largest group of GPs, announced today a revised plan for governments to deal with the current health crisis. The plan includes actions that can be taken right away to stop the bleeding and long-term changes that will make sure all Australians will have access to GP care in the future.

Among these are:

• Improving access to care by tripling incentives for bulk billing, increasing Medicare rebates for longer, more complex consultations by 20%, funding improved primary care services for people over 65, with mental health conditions or disabilities, and paying for patients to see their GP after an unplanned hospital visit.

• Increasing the number of GPs by making it easier for international doctors to work here, paying for their training again, helping junior doctors do internships in general practise, and exempting independent tenant GPs from payroll tax so that more practises don't have to close.

• Long-term reforms based on the RACGP Vision to build the role of GPs as the leaders of patient care in multidisciplinary teams, with serious investment to improve the health of Australians and reduce spending on expensive hospital care.

Dr. Nicole Higgins, who is the president of the RACGP, said that GPs need to be at the centre of any long-term reforms.

"It's great that our country's leaders recognize the need for change, but I'm worried that the government's plan to change Medicare won't go far enough to help patients and may even make things worse," said Dr. Higgins.

He said the problem is that decades of neglect and underfunding have made it harder and more expensive to see a doctor. This has caused a crisis in our hospital system, with wait times getting longer and more ambulances on the road.

"We need to do something right away to stop the bleeding and make it easier for people, especially those who need it most, to get care.” Australia also needs long-term reforms that make GPs the leaders of patient care in multidisciplinary teams. “This is because only one person should be in charge of a patient's care, and GPs are the best people to do this." Dr. Higgins says.

"We've seen other countries, like the UK, try to deal with a lack of GPs by giving primary care to other health professionals. This didn't help patients' health and well-being in a meaningful way, though. Instead, it made the health system even more broken up, which leads to worse health outcomes, waste, and inefficiency.

"GPs are the best people to take care of patients because we have the training and experience in general care and making diagnoses that we need. Seeing the same doctor over time, also called "continuity of care," has been shown to lead to fewer trips to the hospital, lower death rates, and lower costs for the health budget.

"So, we need GPs to work together with allied health professionals, pharmacists, and practicing nurses. They should be supported within general practice, and GPs should be the ones in charge of patient care."

"If we want to change things for the long term, we need to do it right.” That means putting a lot of money into general practice care and making GPs the leaders of patient care in teams of people from different fields. All the evidence shows that this will make Australians healthier and save money on expensive hospital care. “It makes sense."

The head of the RACGP urged governments to do something right away to stop the bleeding.

"Long-term changes will take time, but we're in the middle of a health crisis that needs action right away," she said.

"Over the past few decades, governments have cut funding for general practice care, even though the need for care has skyrocketed because Australia's population is getting older and more people are getting chronic illnesses and having mental health problems.”

"Because of this, GP clinics are being forced to close, people are having trouble seeing a GP, and hospitals are overworked, which is making everyone's health worse.”

"The government can quickly take simple steps to improve access to care, especially for those who need it the most. Incentives for bulk billing will be tripled, and Medicare rebates for longer consultations for complex care will go up by 20%.

"We are also asking the government to do something right away to increase the number of GPs. They can do this by making it easier for international doctors to work in rural areas and by paying for their training to become a specialist GP in Australia.

"And we need state and territory governments to exempt all independent tenant GPs who rent rooms from clinics from paying payroll taxes. If practises have to pay huge new taxes, they will have to pass the costs on to patients, and some will have to close.

"There is no substitute for care from a general practitioner. This route leads to worse health outcomes for patients and longer wait times in hospitals that are already full.

“Our country's leaders need to realize this and make the changes needed to make sure that all Australians, no matter where they live or how much money they have, have access to high-quality GP care.” Less than that is not good enough."Dr. Higgins disclosed.

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