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Premier must act to protect patients
27 March 2011
AMA Victoria President Dr Harry Hemley today appealed to the Baillieu Government to oppose Medicare Locals to safeguard primary health care for patients.
“This is a significant and troubling change to primary healthcare in this country,” Dr Hemley said. “The spectre of a person not having access to their doctor because of a new set of bureaucratic speed humps could well become reality.
“This worries us greatly and it should worry every Australian.”
Dr Hemley’s call comes just a week before the Commonwealth Government ushers in the first tranche of Medicare Locals. Tenders for Medicare Locals will be submitted to the Commonwealth next Tuesday.
“In just over a week the Commonwealth Government will write a cheque for half-a-billion dollars and no one can tell you what it’s buying,” said Dr Hemley.
“A bureaucrat hundreds of kilometers away cannot help patients navigate today’s complex health system. Patients require someone that knows their doctor, their area and, most importantly — the patients themselves,” he said.
Last week the Baillieu Government released its response to the Commonwealth Government’s Medicare Local guidelines. AMA Victoria has written to the Premier to call on the Victorian Government to oppose Medicare Locals in their current form and defer their implementation until further consultation has taken place.
“Medicare Locals present another bureaucratic barrier to patients getting the care they require,” said Dr Hemley. “The Baillieu Government has the opportunity to lead a national discussion on this issue.”
One of the primary aims of Medicare Locals is to coordinate patient care. “Patients do need assistance to navigate the health system — especially chronic and complex patients who require services from several care agencies,” said Dr Hemley.
“However, the Commonwealth has given no indication how a Medicare Local would actually help patients to do this.
Dr Hemley said AMA Victoria had proposed an alternative model that preserves and protects the doctor-patient relationship, placing care coordinators in general practices. This model would use the funding currently allocated to Medicare Locals to employ care coordinators that would work within general practices along side patients’ doctors.
“Care coordinators working alongside GPs can help patients transition through the complex health system using their local knowledge and the local GPs’ expertise. Care coordinators would talk with patients and help them to navigate referrals, other care needs and access to social services.
“This alternative model would achieve better health outcomes at the point of care and significant cost efficiencies, with the opportunity to redirect a portion of the funds earmarked for bureaucracy to under-resourced sectors of the health system.”
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