Tv show points finger at gps for much of medicare waste

TV show points finger at GPs for much of Medicare waste | Australian Doctor

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TV show points finger at GPs for much of Medicare waste 29 September, 2015

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Paul Smith

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An investigation into Medicare by ABC TV's Four Corners program claims 30% of the health budget is being wasted and GPs are often to blame.

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TV show points finger at GPs for much of Medicare waste Four Corners ignored GP pressures: RACGP

Celebrated health journalist Dr Norman Swan, who presents the show, says too many people who visit their GP have no idea where the

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He raises familiar topics, such as the value of imaging for back and knee pain, PSA screening, and the use of angiograms and stenting.

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Related News: • Prime Minister has lost doctors' support of MBS review: AMA • Four Corners ignored GP pressures: RACGP As a patient's first point of contact with the health system, GPs are a major cause of the problems for not having the confidence to clinically manage patients without ordering unnecessary tests and scripts, Dr Swan claims.

The documentary ends by calling on patients to take matters into their own hands and to ask their GPs what the evidence is for the tests and treatments they are being prescribed.

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Some doctors this morning have described the program as an exercise in GP bashing.

Watch a clip of the show below and the full documentary on Four Corners here Did you watch the show? Let us know what you thought in the DISQUS section below.

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rob

http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/News/Latest-News/TV-show-points-finger-at-GP... 30/09/2015

TV show points finger at GPs for much of Medicare waste | Australian Doctor

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Read more about: Medicolegal, Medicare, Evidence-based medicine, Diagnostics, Patients, Professionalism

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Didn't watch the program as I new it would be about doctor bashing ! Interesting to note the partisan views currently being expressed,...

TV show points finger at GPs for much of Medicare waste · 1 hour ago

Related articles Dr. Who There's something really annoying about Swan.

His pontificating viewpoints that just mirror the ABC ant-elitist eternal dogma are as ever...

TV show points finger at GPs for much of Medicare waste · 2 hours ago

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message1 No one should be afraid of review. If it improves practice and lessens the burden on wasting the dollar on unnecessary medical...

TV show points finger at GPs for much of Medicare waste · 2 hours ago

Please log into DISQUS to leave a comment by clicking on the blue 'D' icon below. If you are not yet registered with DISQUS then please sign up below. Thanks

71 Comments

rob

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Didn't watch the program as I new it would be about doctor bashing !

Interesting to note the partisan views currently being expressed, Government, media on one side AMA on the other , RACGP opting for the middle ground.

One group who appear currently left out of the debate, who I would be most interested in listening to, are the MDO's. I would probably take more notice of them than most of the others.

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Dr. Who

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There's something really annoying about Swan. His pontificating viewpoints that just mirror the ABC ant-elitist eternal dogma are as ever present as a bad odor at a sewage farm. If we're going to address wasting public money, let's start with a public broadcaster, that unremittingly pushes its social agenda on the vulnerable and gullible Australian viewing public.

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message1

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No one should be afraid of review. If it improves practice and lessens the burden on wasting the dollar on unnecessary medical investigations and procedures and allowing new evidence based technologies, isn't that a good thing?

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dr

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can't we go to court over what i consider to be misleading information , I think AMA should look into some legal action, we can't generalise things, the friends who agree may not be confident of their referral and path/imaging requests •

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lhadnesorg [Glenn Rosendahl]

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Norman Swan's essential problem is that he has not differentiated between the processes of population/public health and clinical practice. He should have learned the difference in medical school. Had he had any professional experience of clinical practice, he would know the difference, just like you and I know it. Nor has he submitted his current research - as a paper - to formal peer review. There are academics (and clinicians) who research medical conditions, methods of diagnosis and clinical management. They assemble data and analyse it with normative and statistical methodology. Develop conclusions, firstly discuss their findings in their local academic peer group, write the paper, submit it to more extensive peer review, then publish. We can read and draw our own conclusions. Our clinical practice is informed by this information. But the management of an individual patient, with a particular, specific problem, is a completely different process. The patient comes to us with a problem. They

http://www.australiandoctor.com.au/News/Latest-News/TV-show-points-finger-at-GP... 30/09/2015

TV show points finger at GPs for much of Medicare waste | Australian Doctor

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