The Labor pledge is made up of $750 million over three years through a new Strengthening Medicare Fund,along with $220 million in grants of up to $50,000 for GPs to train staff,buy equipment,improve ventilation and upgrade IT telehealth systems.
Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Dr Omar Khorshid said the Labor funding would “put general practice on a pathway to a more sustainable future” after the Coalition declined to fund its own 10-year primary health plan,including voluntary practice enrolment.
Under the new system,called MyGP,patients who enrol with a single practice could eventually be able to access extra services – such as wound dressings,physiotherapy and mental health support – on site and coordinated by their GP.
Loading
“The way healthcare is delivered in primary care is changing and funding arrangements need to be modernised to reflect this,” Khorshid said,saying voluntary practice enrolment would deliver “better and more accessible care.”
“For many patients who currently see multiple healthcare professionals,across multiple appointments,and in multiple locations,this could save them a lot of co-ordination,time and money,” he said.
A Flinders University study into a government trial of the model last month found it did “not improve self-rated health”,but the AMA says the trial was poorly implemented.