The head of the peak body representing doctors says a report to government following a Medicare review has nothing in it to help Australians immediately access better health care.
Health has been put at the top of the priority list for federal, state and territory leaders with the prime minister planning to overhaul the ailing Medicare system.
At the first national cabinet meeting of the year, leaders considered recommendations from a Medicare task force report on measures to improve healthcare affordability and accessibility, support people with chronic health conditions and take pressure off hospitals.
The report called for patient-centered care to be at the heart of reforms and included recommendations to improve access to general practice, use the health workforce better and improve the My Health Record system.
But Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson said while he welcomed the review, there was nothing in the report to ensure Australians struggling to see a GP or facing long operation waitlists were seen any quicker or more affordably.
“There is absolutely nothing in the report that will provide anything immediate and that is what we need,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“Australians can see the crisis the health system is in and we were surprised to see nothing more come out of (national cabinet).
“We had the most powerful political leaders in the country all in one room and it doesn’t seem like they could agree on anything.”
Mr Robson said people were tired of the Labor government blaming the previous coalition government for the problems in health care.
“You’ve been in government long enough now, it’s 2023, you need to own this problem, you need to have a national plan,” he said.
Mr Albanese said his government intended to act on the recommendations from the report.
“The key going forward is to better integrate the systems so that patients (have) better health care and we know that the earlier the care is provided, the cheaper that care will be,” he said.
The prime minister said better policy, not necessarily more funding, was key to fixing issues in the Medicare system.
“We all agree … part of the issues are people turning up at emergency departments because they don’t have other options,” he said.
“We need to improve primary health care (and) we need to improve access to GP services.”
A proposal to allow pharmacists to potentially prescribe medications to common ailments was welcomed by state and territory leaders, but knocked back by Professor Robson.
“There’s a very good reason why there is a natural break between prescribing a medication and dispensing it and we don’t think breaking that silo adds anything and, in fact, it just adds another layer of complexity and potential cost,” he said.
Health Minister Mark Butler said the federal budget in May would show which of the report’s recommendations the government planned to spend an allocated $750 million on.
But he said the crisis would not be resolved overnight.
“I want to be really frank with Australians and with people working in the health sector: I know this is not a single budget challenge, I know there will be more to do,” he said.
“This is not a question of just chucking money at the existing system. The existing system needs to change to reflect the care needs of the Australian population.”
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said more money wasn’t necessarily the solution to improving the health system.
“Let’s put patients at the centre of that system, integrate the networks in a better and more efficient way and then work out the funding arrangements off the back of it,” he said.
© AAP 2023
