Cutting the red tape in Australian healthcare The Federal Government’s Select Committee on Red Tape has handed down its report into healthcare. Here’s why that matters for Australian GPs.
GP recommendations adopted in Parliamentary report on life insurance industry The RACGP last year presented the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services with concerns regarding providing medical reports to life insurers – and has now had its recommendations accepted in a Parliamentary report.
PBAC approval of HIV drug a major step forward for at-risk populations The recent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee approval of a ground-breaking HIV drug will allow men who have sex with men to retain control over their own sexual health, GP and sexual health advocate Dr George Forgan-Smith told newsGP.
Working to cut red tape in general practice The RACGP will address the Senate Red Tape Committee inquiry into Health Services, focusing on a number of key issues for Australian GPs.
Accepting gifts: How much is too much? Would you accept bottles of wine every couple of months from a patient? A $200 gift voucher for a meal? An envelope containing $1000 in cash? A recent disciplinary hearing involving a GP considered all of these issues.
What the new after-hours rebates mean for GPs The Federal Government’s recent changes to Medicare rebates are designed to better reflect the qualifications of doctors providing urgent after-hours care.
RACGP welcomes changes to after-hours care rebates President Dr Bastian Seidel has applauded Federal Minister for Health Greg Hunt for heeding the RACGP’s concerns and implementing evidence-based adjustments to after-hours Medicare rebates.
After-hours care not value for money The current structure of after-hours healthcare provision in Australia ‘supports the provision of comparatively low-value medical care and does not represent value for money for the taxpayer’, the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Taskforce has found in its final report.
After-hours services facing ‘day of reckoning’ The RACGP has welcomed the Federal Government’s decision to launch an investigation into after-hours medical services following News Corp reports it is using unqualified doctors to treat patients.