No mandated health checks for older GPs, urges world authority

The World Medical Association (WMA) has issued a statement opposing any mandating of age-enforced retirement or health checks of GPs, in contrast to a proposal aired last year by Australia’s national regulatory agency.
 
Adopted last month at its 76th annual general assembly, the WMA Statement on Ageing Physicians recommends ‘evidence-based competency evaluation’ ahead of mandated checks, and ‘urges avoidance of policies that mandate age-specific retirement for physicians’. 
 
The statement has been welcomed by RACGP President Dr Michael Wright, who said it backs the college’s stance that mandatory requirements of older doctors without cause ‘aren’t the answer’.
 
‘As we’ve said before, mandatory age checks or retirement ages aren’t the answer. It’s about working to the age and with the capacity that you can, should and want to,’ he said.
 
In August 2024, the RACGP slammed a proposal by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) for GPs aged over 70 to have health checks with another doctor every three years, and annually from the age of 80.
 
AHPRA said it was considering the move due to data showing doctors aged over 70 are 81% more likely than those aged under 70 to be the subject of a notification.
 
In its submission to AHPRA in October 2024, the RACGP countered that ‘no evidence is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of mandatory health checks in reducing patient harms and notifications’.
 
According to a 2024 newsGP poll, 56% of the 1715 respondents did not support AHPRA’s proposal, while a further 7% were unsure.
 
Since submissions to the proposal closed in October 2024, no submissions or outcomes have been published on the AHPRA website.
 
An AHPRA spokesperson told newsGP that, ‘like the WMA, the Medical Board of Australia values the contribution of late career doctors to their patients, the medical profession and our community.’
 
‘The Board is considering feedback from its consultation along with further information and research, and is refining an approach that is proportionate, respectful and effective in supporting late career doctors to practise safely,’ they said.

‘The Board expects to share next steps with the profession by early in the new year.’

The WMA, which represents 115 national medical associations and 10 million physicians worldwide, recommends GPs have their health and work ability ‘regularly evaluated by another physician’, but with no mandated time or frequency.
 
If any concerns are raised about a GP’s competence, the WMA says it is the responsibility of the GP’s colleagues and internal management to examine ‘whether the concern is well-founded and if so, whether the issue can be resolved quickly and through internal processes without risk to patient safety’.
 
If that process fails, only then should an external authority become involved, says the WMA.
 
‘If such efforts do not resolve the problem, it may be necessary to report the physician to the relevant authorities in good faith and in the best interests of the physician and of their patients,’ says the statement.
 
The WMA says GPs at or near retirement age play ‘a great role in contemporary medical practice’.
 
‘The number of physicians at or near retirement age is increasing in many parts of the world, and many of these physicians still play an active and leading role in their respective fields,’ the statement says.
 
Dr Wright said this ‘highlights that doctors should not be discriminated because of their age’.
 
‘When AHPRA raised mandatory age checks as a potential option, we were clear about our concerns that there was no evidence that age checks would improve care, but that they could increase administrative burdens for GPs and worsen the workforce shortages,’ he said.
 
‘If any changes were to occur, they must be straightforward, not time consuming, and focus on the health and wellbeing of doctors, and support them to practise for as long as they want to, safely.

‘Having worked with GPs in their 70s and 80s – including my father – I know the invaluable care our highly experienced senior GPs can offer.
 
‘The most important message here is that no matter what age you are all of us should have a regular GP – that message also goes to GPs.’
 
With more than 40% of GPs now aged over 55, the average GP is older than other medical specialists, particularly in rural areas where GPs aged over 70 represent almost 10% of the workforce, said Dr Wright.
 
‘What we need to do is continue growing the GP workforce,’ he said.
 
‘The Federal Government’s $600 million-plus commitment in the 2025–26 Budget to better support and incentivise GP training is already helping greatly, and there are now 1800 training places funded next year and 1900 in 2027.’
 
Log in below to join the conversation.   

ageing ageism mandatory health checks patient safety physicians professional autonomy professional development retirement