Call for views on scope of practice

Views are being sought for an independent review commissioned by the Department of Health and Aged Care (DoH), which could ultimately lead to changes in the way the primary care health professionals work.
 
Last month Professor Mark Cormack, a former allied health professional and senior health official, was appointed to take charge of the ‘Unleashing the potential for our health workforce review’.
 
Feedback has now officially opened, with a deadline of 16 October for submissions.
 
The review covers the work of GPs, nurses including nurse practitioners, pharmacists, midwives, allied health practitioners, First Nations health practitioners and workers, and paramedics.
 
According to an announcement from Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler on Monday, the review will look into evidence about health professionals working to their full scope of practice in primary care, including any obstacles that might prevent from doing so.
 
‘Making sure Australia optimises its health workforce across a stretched primary care sector will improve health access and equity across all communities – including regional, rural and remote areas,’ the DoH announcement stated.

Minister Butler said that many in the health workforce have not been working to their full potential ‘for too long’.
 
‘Whether it is nurses, pharmacists or allied health professionals, in a global health workforce shortage we need everyone working as close as possible to the top of their scope,’ he said.
 
‘This is the first of many opportunities for input into this important review.’

The coverage of the review so far has tended to focus on potential scope of practice changes for other health professionals such as nurses and pharmacists.
 
However, according to a survey earlier this month, almost three in four newsGP readers (72%) believe there is potential for GPs to expand their scope of practice.
 
Professor Mark Morgan, Chair of RACGP Expert Committee – Quality Care (REC–QC), says GPs should be helped to do more.
 
‘What GPs really need to enable them to work at full scope of practice are accessible, real-time sources of high-quality information and health pathways,’ he previously told newsGP.
 
He has also highlighted specific legislative barriers he believes are holding GPs back, and cited the college’s position statement on shared care as having more detail on potential scope of practice changes for general practice.
 
‘For those patients who have complex long term medical conditions and require specialist teams to help look after them, there’s a great scope for GPs to work more closely with those people, and be able to adjust treatments within ranges, and help make that much more efficient and patient centred,’ Professor Morgan said.
 
‘It’s a shift towards [other specialists] really working on top of their scope, seeing new presentations that need their expertise – and not reviewing stable long-term conditions, but to allow that task to be done where it’s much more appropriate, which is with the GP.’
 
An interim report is due by the end of the year, followed by a final report with recommendations and an implementation plan in the second half of 2024.
 
More information about the review is available on the DoH website.
 
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general practice scope of practice