‘Well-supported GPs deliver better outcomes’: Health of the Nation

The RACGP has joined federal and state policymakers in Canberra, on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country, to launch the 2025 General Practice: Health of the Nation report.
 
Now in its ninth year, the 2025 report focuses on preventive care and multidisciplinary team care, revealing that general practice appointments are getting longer as care becomes more complex.
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright launched the report at Parliament House on 7 October, alongside fellow members of the college’s Board, Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd, and politicians from all sides, including Federal Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing Mark Butler, GP and Independent MP Dr Sophie Scamps, and Liberal MP Anne Ruston.
 
Dr Wright told newsGP the Health of the Nation report – informed by data pulled from a survey of more than 2400 members nationwide – showcases the strengths of general practice, as well as the challenges and solutions that lie ahead.
 
‘The annual Health of the Nation report adds further weight to our key advocacy asks,’ Dr Wright said. 
 
‘We know that preventive care and management of complex and chronic conditions provided by GPs, enabled by appropriate funding for longer consults, keeps patients healthier for longer and reduces hospital presentations.’
 
This year’s report reveals that GPs are dealing with more complex patient presentations, and evolving scope of practice. Mental health issues remain the most common reason people visit a GP – with 71% of GPs nominating mental health in their top reasons for presentations.  
 
This means GPs are spending more time with patients – up to 19.7 minutes on average. Around 68% of GPs highlight the increasing complexity of patient presentations as the ‘greatest challenge’ facing the profession, with 86% supporting patients to manage conditions that non-GP specialists might typically treat. Additionally, 72% of GPs are managing patient conditions that would typically be expected to be treated in a hospital emergency department or urgent care clinic. 
 
To support GPs to provide this care, the RACGP is calling for a 40% increase to patient Medicare rebates for longer GP consultations (Level C and Level D) and a 25% increase to patient Medicare rebates for GP mental health care items.
 
With multidisciplinary team care and preventive care key themes of this year’s report, Dr Wright said both are central to the work GPs deliver and contribute to high-quality primary care and patient outcomes. He says the Health of the Nation report shows clear evidence that general practice is providing high levels of accessible, quality care and remains the most cost-effective part of the health system.
 
More than eight in 10 practising GPs agree that multidisciplinary team care improves patient outcomes. But 79% identified a lack of government funding and incentives as a barrier to providing these models of care within their practice. 
 
‘There is a growing recognition of GPs’ role in delivering holistic, person-centred, accessible, and affordable care – this has been evident in unprecedented Federal Government investments in general practice through increased Medicare funding and workforce reforms earlier this year,’ Dr Wright said.
 
‘There is a strong incentive for policymakers to invest in seeing GPs sooner, to reduce costs across the entire health system.
 
‘And findings from our report point to a potential future where general practice is strengthened, and GPs are empowered to work to their full scope.’
 
But with per person expenditure on hospitals having increased by more than 30% since 2014–15 and general practice funding remaining virtually unchanged, Dr Wright says further investment is needed – with the Health of the Nation report bolstering the college’s key advocacy asks for increased funding for longer consultations.
 
‘We must fix rebates for longer consultations so that those needing more time and more complex care aren’t burdened with higher out-of-pocket costs,’ Dr Wright said.
 
‘This is especially critical for female GPs, who our data shows are more likely to provide care in mental health and women’s health.
 
‘We also need additional funding for the expansion of multidisciplinary care teams to grow the general practice workforce.’
 
For the first time, the report examines GPs’ experiences with racism in the healthcare system, which the college has an ongoing commitment to eliminate. The report found that in the last 12 months, around two in 10 GPs personally experienced racism from a patient within their practice, while one in 10 personally experienced racism from a colleague. Almost one third of GPs have observed racism towards patients.
 
The burden of administrative tasks on GPs also continues to grow, with nearly eight in 10 GPs dissatisfied with the administration associated with their workload. GPs also continue to adapt to new business models and embrace emerging innovation, according to those surveyed.
 
Patient satisfaction with their GP remains positive, the report confirms, with GPs the first point of care for most patients, and 80% of them having a preferred GP.
 
Dr Wright said the report reiterates the focus on GPs and general practices as the cornerstone of primary care and solution to many of the challenges that Australia’s health system is facing.
 
‘Our report shows what works: well-supported GPs deliver better outcomes,’ he said.
 
‘Targeted investment in the GP workforce, patient rebates and multidisciplinary care will secure the future of general practice and improve access to high-quality care for all Australians.’
 
The 2025 General Practice: Health of the Nation report is available on the RACGP website.
 
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