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RACGP demands GP recognition in allied health strategy
The college says while allied health is part of a well-resourced general practice sector, it is a ‘missed opportunity’ if GPs are not enabled to remain at the centre of care teams.
The RACGP says general practice is a key setting for allied health professionals to work within multidisciplinary care teams.
Policymakers must do more to promote and enable effective communication between allied health professionals and GPs, according to a new RACGP submission.
The college’s demand comes in response to the Department of Health and Aged Care’s (DoHAC) Draft National Allied Health Workforce Strategy, which aims to shape the future of the workforce.
While the RACGP broadly supports the strategy, it also highlights its ‘missed opportunities’ and is urging the Government to consider the intersection of allied health with general practice.
Aiming to address national workforce issues, including a national shortage of allied health professionals, the Strategy is examining how these problems vary across the sector to ‘better align the supply of allied health professionals with current and future needs’.
Key recommendations from the RACGP include that:
- general practice be a main setting for allied health professionals to work within meaningful multidisciplinary care teams
- the Government needs to emphasise and promote the importance of effective communication between allied health professionals and GPs.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright acknowledges the ‘rising demand’ for health services driven by a growing and ageing population and increase in complex and chronic conditions, with allied health professionals playing a ‘critical role’ in supporting this.
‘However, we believe there is a missed opportunity in not highlighting general practice as a key setting for allied health professionals to work within meaningful multidisciplinary care teams,’ he writes in the submission to DoHAC.
‘General practice is the first point of contact for the health system for most Australians, and plays a critical role in providing patient-centred care. Therefore, it should be given stronger recognition within the draft Strategy.’
Recognising the central role of general practice in the healthcare system is part of
ongoing RACGP advocacy and a focus in the lead up to the long awaited
Scope of Practice Review released late last year.
The review proposes the implementation of direct referral pathways for allied health professionals to refer to non-GP medical specialists within their scope of practice, with timely notification to GPs and relevant members of the multidisciplinary care team.
But the
college is standing firm that role substitution and fragmented care must not be the outcome.
Building GP-led multidisciplinary care teams and increased funding to enhance the delivery of these within general practice is a
strategic priority for the RACGP.
‘General practice multidisciplinary care teams are the cornerstone of primary care, with many different models (including virtual) functioning within the general practice,’ Dr Wright said.
‘Strengthening this collaboration is essential to ensuring comprehensive patient care and improving health outcomes.’
Aligning with its
2025–26 pre-Budget asks, the RACGP is calling for:
- an increase to the Workforce Incentive Program (WIP) – Practice Stream to support the establishment and sustainability of general practice-based multidisciplinary care teams
- targeted additional WIP funding to support pharmacists working in general practice, recognising their integral role in collaborative, patient-centred care
- establishment of a clinical governance taskforce to develop, test, and refine models for multidisciplinary care teams in general practice, ensuring they are ‘practical, scalable, and effective’.
Overall, the RACGP says general practice must be fully integrated into future allied health workforce strategies, with appropriate funding and policy reforms made to support the delivery of comprehensive, multidisciplinary care to all Australians.
Once the finalised Strategy has been endorsed by federal, state and territory governments, it will be implemented over the next 10 years, involving continued collaboration with governments and the broader allied health sector, as well as with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations.
The completed Strategy is expected in 2025.
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