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RACGP demands adequate funding for GP-led disability care teams
The college has doubled down on its push for increased rebates and properly funded multidisciplinary teams, with GPs at the centre.
For people with disability, GPs provide continuity of care and have knowledge of medical history and social context, the RACGP says.
A new RACGP submission is calling for greater recognition of GPs’ role in caring for people with disability, as well as adequately funded models to support wraparound general practice care.
Those demands are contained within the college’s response to the Australian Government Department of Social Services’ Review of Australia’s Disability Strategy (ADS) discussion paper.
Together with the disability royal commission’s final report, the ADS outlines a national approach to ensure best outcomes for all Australians living with disability, and covers several outcomes areas.
Aligning with its position statement on improving care and support for people with disability, the RACGP’s submission focuses on the ‘health and wellbeing’ outcome area.
It highlights the central role GPs have, through strong and ongoing relationships with people living with disability, their families, and carers, as well as helping to link patients to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).
As part of its wider and ongoing calls, the RACGP is urging for increased patient MBS rebates so GPs are able to better support the healthcare needs of patients with disability.
The college also says any funding must support GP-led multidisciplinary care teams to provide quality care for people with disability.
These teams must be appropriately resourced ‘to coordinate care for patients with complex needs and be adaptable to local community needs,’ the submission states.
Rather than funding the establishment of new services, investment in GP-led multidisciplinary care teams is a more efficient and cost-effective model, according to the RACGP, and will also help to improve quality of life for people with disability.
In its submission to the ADS review, the college is also calling for:
- the time GPs spend in assisting patients navigate and apply for the NDIS to be better recognised and appropriately remunerated
- effective lines of communication to be established to facilitate ongoing cooperation between GPs, other healthcare professionals and the disability sector.
The
college has long called for better recognition and support for GPs and the work they do to ensure better health outcomes for people living with disability – which is recognised in the ADS.
It has also
raised concerns about GPs not being properly acknowledged and compensated for the time spent on ‘often complex’ NDIS paperwork.
In 2022, an
estimated 5.5 million Australians were living with disability, and with GPs most often being patients’ first point of contact in the healthcare system, the RACGP reiterates GPs’ role in providing continuity of care and having knowledge of patients’ medical history and social context.
‘Continuity of care with a regular GP results in improved patient satisfaction and health outcomes,’ the submission states.
‘GPs provide patient-centred, comprehensive, and ongoing care to people with disability through all life stages, along with coordination of care across a multidisciplinary team.
‘Even while receiving support from other health professionals, many people with disability have other health issues which require care from GPs and their teams.’
In addition to general practice care, the RACGP says allied health and mental health services should be a priority for future work under the ADS.
Citing
research showing that people with disability have ‘substantially higher rates of both physical and mental health problems’, many of which are unrecognised or under-treated, this population faces additional barriers to accessing hospital-based and primary health services compared to the general population.
As a solution, the RACGP recommends properly funded models including Medicare patient rebates, as part of
wider calls for a 20% increase to patient rebates for standard consultations lasting more than 20 minutes.
According to the college, current rebates are ‘biased’ towards brief and standard GP consultations and discourage more comprehensive care.
‘There is a real need to provide more funding for GPs who genuinely take the time to provide comprehensive and coordinated healthcare to this population,’ the submission states.
‘This measure will go some way to addressing the imbalance between patient rebates for short and long consultations.
‘GPs who spend the time required supporting patients with disability should not be financially disadvantaged.
‘Under a properly funded model, GPs and practices would receive incentive payments to support the delivery of additional and more comprehensive services, including care coordination activities between consultations, beyond the relevant fee-for-service MBS items.’
In addition to holistic care, the RACGP points out that GPs also support patients to improve their health literacy, which is particularly important for people with disability.
The Department of Social Services is expected to release an updated ADS in December, and the RACGP looks forward to contributing to further discussions.
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