Are you ready for the Auditor - AMA WA

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and withdrawing telehealth incentive payments from mid-
2014. Further, the Government is requiring that telehealth
consultations must now be conducted over a distance of at
least 15km to be eligible for rebates.
As if that was not enough, General Practice was faced with
the Government’s preparedness to coerce Practitioners into
taking part in the Personally Controlled Electronic Health
Record (PCEHR) system. The Government announced that
General Practices must choose to participate in PCEHR if
they are to continue in receiving e-health PIP funding. To put
it mildly, that is nothing more than a cheap form of blackmail.
The Federal Government is not providing any new funding
for the new clinical service that GPs are asked to provide in
helping patients prepare a shared health summary as part
of the PCEHR. Indeed, it could be argued that a
good idea whose time has come has been badly
managed by the Government to the point
that GPs should not go near it, but even
now, more so now given GPs themselves
are effectively being expected to fund
the implementation of something
that is administratively problematic.
As Dr Hambleton says, “this double
whammy represents a substantial
road block to effective implementation
of the PCEHR and threatens
Australia’s efforts to be world leader in
e-health.”
Did the Government consult with the
AMA or the profession over its plans revealed
in the budget? No! The Government knew these
massive cuts were in effect hitting General Practice in the hip
pocket and also quality patient care. These savage cuts follow
other cuts in recent budgets to items such as Joint Injection
Rebates, the Mental Health rebates, the loss of Medicare
Practice Nurse Rebates and earlier cuts to the Immunisation
Incentive Scheme as well as the insane decision to remove GP
After-Hours PIP. GPRA, in its media release entitled “GPRA
appoints Dr Ginni Mansberg as Ambassador for i-heart
my GP campaign,” advises that it’s launching its campaign
on 19 May 2012 to coincide with the second anniversary of
World Family Doctor Day, which celebrates the importance
of General Practitioners and Family Doctors. It’s a good
idea and is aimed at encouraging the public to share positive
stories about why they ‘heart’ their GP on the website www.
iheartmygp.com.au.
Members of the public can also join the conversation on
facebook (www.facebook.com/iheartmygp) and on twitter
(twitter.com/iheartmygp)).
Interestingly, the media release states that the campaign
has already caught the eye of the Federal Health Minister,
who has allegedly recorded a short video outlining why she
‘hearts’ her GP, alongside other politicians. One wonders why
the Health Minister would consider that such a great idea,
when her Government has delivered such a financial battering
to GPs and their patients around the nation. GPs, being
undermined the way they have, will not appreciate then
being told by the perpetrators that they ‘heart’
their GP.
The Government needs constant
reminding that General Practice is
the cornerstone of the health care
system and are the linchpin of
primary care’s service delivery.
This Federal budget
again gouged millions
out of General Practice
and yet expects GPs to
perform even greater
miracles
Over 29,800 GPs undertake well
over 100 million consultations
a year, and are the first point of
contact when a person has a health
problem. This Government needs
to know that General Practice and
its patients do not ‘heart’ what they
have done to General Practice and have
continued to do in this budget.
Federal President Dr Hambleton has written
to the Minister for Health and Ageing, raising grave concerns
about the impact of the cuts announced in 2012–2013
Federal Budget to the PIP program, and has expressed
disappointment that the engine room of the health system,
General Practice, is once again the target of funding cuts.
It is hoped that Minister sees sense and is prepared to get
the Government to overturn these ill-conceived budgetary
decisions. However, the Government’s track record shows that
GPs should not hold their breath.
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