Govt has no idea how many GP clinics exist | Australian Doctor
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Govt has no idea how many GP clinics exist Paul Smith
| 11 September, 2015 |
It's time for doctors to hang up the white coats for good
11 comments Read Later
The Federal Government has had no idea how many general practices exist in Australia since 2011, Australian Doctor has discovered.. The last time national figures were produced was apparently four years ago, a Productivity Commission report says, when the information was collected by the now defunct divisions of general practice. At the time the number of practices was put at 7097. The information has come to light in a submission to the government's primary care review which was launched by Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley (pictured) in April. Related News: Full details of chronic disease funding revamp Since the demise of the divisions, which were replaced by the doomed Medicare Local network, no one has been counting, the commission says. The data black hole means there has been no clear picture of the number of unaccredited practices now operating. In 2011, these numbered 2314 or around 35% of all general practices. “A high or increasing proportion of practices with accreditation can indicate an improvement in the capability of general practice to deliver high quality services,” the commission report says. And although the overall number of practices has historically been in decline, again since 2011 there has been no clear picture of its true extent. Related News: • Random spot checks mooted for GP clinics • What do our top health bureaucrats know about general practice? The AMA quotes the Productivity Commission report in its submission to the primar care review
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consultation, The report also shows that spending on general practice per person was just $299 in 2013/14. This compares with $1819 per person on public hospital care in the same year.
http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/news/latest-news/govt-has-no-idea-how-many-gp... 21/09/2015
Govt has no idea how many GP clinics exist | Australian Doctor
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“Data …[also] highlights that if GP services were performed in other areas of the health system they would cost considerably more than when provided in general practice,” the AMA submission says. “GP services provided in a hospital emergency department would cost between $396 and $599 each, compared to the average cost of a GP visit of around $50.”
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Mike's tuatara Well not that hyperbolic. When I practised in Dunedin, site of the country's oldest medical school and teaching hospital - there was no... Fears for the future of after hours · 1 day ago
More information: • Productivity Commission: Report on Government Services 2015 • AMA submission to Primary Health Care Review « Previous | Next »
Read more about: Medicare Locals, MBS, AMA
Dr Phil 42 Yep, got a letter today from an after-hours clinic required to give a patient a centrelink certificate (the same patient that DNA'd my... Fears for the future of after hours · 1 day ago Dr Phil 42 Yep, watch this space, the government RACGP and AHPRA will require you to be personally
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Steve Wilson
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I get very resentful when my future, particularly with regard to consistency of financing and workforce distribution, is entirely at the behest of the utterly clueless, uninformed, intransigent and out-of-touch. •
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Mike's hapless hominid
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'Welcome to our world'.
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C'mon sing along now. •
Subtractor
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I strongly advise you put that resentment to positive attempts to get out of GP if possible and if you are young enough, instead of hanging in
http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/news/latest-news/govt-has-no-idea-how-many-gp... 21/09/2015
Govt has no idea how many GP clinics exist | Australian Doctor
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