New Report: Thousands of people could be at risk for cancer and other serious illnesses due to new specialist tasks
- Replies 18
We all know how important it is to seek out medical advice and consultations from reliable, knowledgeable professionals for any health concerns.
It takes thorough knowledge, experience and an understanding of a patient’s entire medical history for an accurate diagnosis to be made. This is especially true for serious illnesses such as cancer, which are often found through preventative care and vigilant monitoring.
However, with the Australian Government's recent news of potential changes to Medicare that could split health care amongst different professionals, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has stepped forward to voice their concerns.
The RACGP said they were 'nervous' about the idea of patients visiting multiple specialists (e.g. nurses, physiotherapists or pharmacists) without being monitored by a coordinating doctor, adding that 'no other professional' had a complete overview of the patient’s overall health.
RACGP’s Rural Chairperson Associate Professor Michael Clements said that the group is not supportive of the 'deprioritising' of GPs under the proposed Medicare funding changes.
'We absolutely don’t support the idea people could go off to see a pharmacist for managing blood pressure but then back to us for managing mental health', he remarked.
It should be noted that under the proposed reform, the government has suggested ‘task substitution’ for healthcare workers, allowing specialists to perform other tasks that are outside of their expertise. The RACGP believes this could lead to serious illnesses such as cancer being missed.
Clements continued: 'These professionals only know what they know. You need a steward, a leader. It works, but as long as there’s one person making sure it’s all working.'
Clements, who runs practices in Townsville and rural Queensland, raised a very recent example from his clinic work, where a longtime patient, who reported seemingly unrelated symptoms, was diagnosed with lymphoma, a serious form of cancer.
He believes that if there was no doctor to oversee and coordinate that patient’s combined visiting specialists, the cancer would have gone undiagnosed.
'The more you break up the relationship with a patient from the GP clinic that knows them, [the more] it hurts,' he said.
'There needs to be somebody accountable, taking an overall picture. There’s nobody other than GPs doing that.'
Clements and the RACGP back the concept of multidisciplinary care, but are worried that any changes to the current system could erode funding for GPs, leading to cheaper but less reliable healthcare service.
He added: 'We’re fully supportive of multidisciplinary care, and as a college, we support any movement in Medicare to allow us to work closely with allied health colleagues.'
'We’re happy to work with nurse practitioners in their existing roles because when we work together we can do good things.'
The RACGP are therefore calling for further funding to increase Medicare rebates for GP visits and to reduce or eliminate gap fees, in order to encourage patients to keep a regular GP.
They claim that GPs are not trying to be 'gatekeepers' of healthcare, but rather emphasise the importance of them being responsible for coordinating patient care and making sure that everyone in the healthcare team is communicating effectively.
These criticisms, according to Clements, were 'overplayed' and patients may seek medical attention from other specialists as needed.
The Federal government has pledged $750 million to improve the existing available funds, and the Health Minister, Mark Butler has made it known that the changes will focus on the way medical personnel are paid.
More information about the reform and the funding model for medical rebates can be read in this article.
Members, this is a real cause for concern. We all know that early detection saves lives and sticking to one doctor helps them to get a better understanding of your medical history.
So, what do you think about this? Do you think this position from the RACGP is reasonable? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
It takes thorough knowledge, experience and an understanding of a patient’s entire medical history for an accurate diagnosis to be made. This is especially true for serious illnesses such as cancer, which are often found through preventative care and vigilant monitoring.
However, with the Australian Government's recent news of potential changes to Medicare that could split health care amongst different professionals, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has stepped forward to voice their concerns.
The RACGP said they were 'nervous' about the idea of patients visiting multiple specialists (e.g. nurses, physiotherapists or pharmacists) without being monitored by a coordinating doctor, adding that 'no other professional' had a complete overview of the patient’s overall health.
RACGP’s Rural Chairperson Associate Professor Michael Clements said that the group is not supportive of the 'deprioritising' of GPs under the proposed Medicare funding changes.
RACGP criticised the proposed reform to Medicare funding which could lead to the 'deprioritising' of GPs. Credit: Pexels/Antoni Shkraba.
'We absolutely don’t support the idea people could go off to see a pharmacist for managing blood pressure but then back to us for managing mental health', he remarked.
It should be noted that under the proposed reform, the government has suggested ‘task substitution’ for healthcare workers, allowing specialists to perform other tasks that are outside of their expertise. The RACGP believes this could lead to serious illnesses such as cancer being missed.
Clements continued: 'These professionals only know what they know. You need a steward, a leader. It works, but as long as there’s one person making sure it’s all working.'
Clements, who runs practices in Townsville and rural Queensland, raised a very recent example from his clinic work, where a longtime patient, who reported seemingly unrelated symptoms, was diagnosed with lymphoma, a serious form of cancer.
He believes that if there was no doctor to oversee and coordinate that patient’s combined visiting specialists, the cancer would have gone undiagnosed.
'The more you break up the relationship with a patient from the GP clinic that knows them, [the more] it hurts,' he said.
'There needs to be somebody accountable, taking an overall picture. There’s nobody other than GPs doing that.'
The RACGP claims that if the reforms were to be imposed, underlying life-threatening conditions, such as cancer, might get missed or misdiagnosed. Credit: Pexels/Tima Miroshnichenko.
Clements and the RACGP back the concept of multidisciplinary care, but are worried that any changes to the current system could erode funding for GPs, leading to cheaper but less reliable healthcare service.
He added: 'We’re fully supportive of multidisciplinary care, and as a college, we support any movement in Medicare to allow us to work closely with allied health colleagues.'
'We’re happy to work with nurse practitioners in their existing roles because when we work together we can do good things.'
The RACGP are therefore calling for further funding to increase Medicare rebates for GP visits and to reduce or eliminate gap fees, in order to encourage patients to keep a regular GP.
They claim that GPs are not trying to be 'gatekeepers' of healthcare, but rather emphasise the importance of them being responsible for coordinating patient care and making sure that everyone in the healthcare team is communicating effectively.
These criticisms, according to Clements, were 'overplayed' and patients may seek medical attention from other specialists as needed.
The Federal government has pledged $750 million to improve the existing available funds, and the Health Minister, Mark Butler has made it known that the changes will focus on the way medical personnel are paid.
More information about the reform and the funding model for medical rebates can be read in this article.
Members, this is a real cause for concern. We all know that early detection saves lives and sticking to one doctor helps them to get a better understanding of your medical history.
So, what do you think about this? Do you think this position from the RACGP is reasonable? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
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