Beat Medical Blog

Are GPs turning patients away with high consultation fees?

Posted by Beat Medical

The Sydney Morning Herald reported recently that out of patients surveyed, 9% responded that they would put off seeing their GP due to the fees.

The central question we might ask is- how responsible is the individual for their own healthcare costs?

Of course, one must also consider the commercial viability of being a GP, which can be an expensive endeavour. With business on-costs like rent, utilities, insurance, as well as paying staff and employed GPs, margins for owners of GP practices are slim. As a recruitment company, we often deal with GP practices who are very price sensitive, for whom it is less expensive to shut down for a break rather than employ a locum.

If we assume is expensive to run a GP practice, who then is responsible to making sure GPs are able to effectively service their patients, as well as making an acceptable living? Should the government increase the MBS items to close the gap between the private fee and the bulk billing fee? Or, should it simply operate as a free market economy, with the price and access being determined by market forces and the buying power of the consumer?

From a medical recruitment perspective, we find that the practices that are at least mixed billing are generally more able to meet market rates for staffing costs (with the exception of government-funded Superclinics). This means greater access to GPs for the patients of those practices. However, for those practices who believe in government funded healthcare, and offer a no-gap, bulk billing service to their patients, is it fair that their financial margins often prohibit engaging professional help with recruitment?

Read the original SMH article here.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below...

General Practitioners involved in Medicare rorts?

Posted by Beat Medical

The Sydney Morning Herald reported today that in a recent MJA article, Dr Tony Webber says that the 'dysfunctional' GP Management Plans system is open to rorting by practitioners across the board.

It is without doubt that incentive-based programs have an opportunity for fraud, overuse, or misuse. Although it is not acceptable, it is part of the price we pay for having a largely government funded health system.

One of the problems we see with this article is that there is little to describe what real checks and balances are in place to monitor the system, what training was provided to practitioners, and of course - what benefit has been provided to the healthcare consumers who have been beneficiaries of the system.

As recruiters, we work with employers and general practitioners every day to connect people with jobs across the Australasia region. The persistent issue we see is the government doing things to detract from the attractiveness of working as a doctor (particularly a GP) in high need areas.

Although it remains to be seen, the next step will undoubtedly be a government enquiry. There will be people hauled over the coals, and probably a mass requirement for GPs and other practitioners to provide reports to government bodies. Public confidence in medical practitioners may be decreased as a result of the negative media attention.

There ought to be more of a focus on developing the image of the medical profession, particularly those positions in the areas of the most need - and loosening the significant red tape and barriers to working and billing in the system.

Beat Medical owner named President of Industry Association

Posted by Beat Medical

Since the inception of Beat Medical in 2009, the company and its owners have been actively involved with the peak industry association for recruitment, the RCSA- in particular the special interest group AMRANZ (Association of Medical Recruiters of Australia and New Zealand).

During this time, Managing Director Shaun Hughston has served as a member of the AMRANZ council. Last month, Shaun was elected as the third President of AMRANZ. 

In this position, Shaun will be responsible for the leadership of a significantly skilled and experienced council of medical recruiters. The primary focus of the association and council over the next few years will be to build on the professionalism and standards of the industry, as well as representing the interests of the medical recruitment industry as a whole.

When you recruit with a company that is an AMRANZ member, you have a greater level of assurance that the organisation you are dealing has high ethical and professional standards, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the industry and market. 

Potential for disruption to healthcare from QANTAS dispute

Posted by Beat Medical

It won't be news to you that over the weekend, QANTAS took the rare step of initiating a lockout of its staff following disputes with a number of employee unions.

There was a lot of talk about inconvenience to holidaymakers, the tourism industry, and the Melbourne Cup being disrupted by this extraordinary event. 

However, with any number of healthcare workers travelling around Australia to fill critical positions in hospitals, clinics and other facilities, there was huge potential for there to be a real and tangible effect on the provision of services to patients around Australia. 

When a highly skilled professional is expected to arrive in a marginally staffed facility over a weekend, and does not arrive, the effect can be devastating to the local community.

Beat Medical sends doctors and other professionals around Australia and the region on flights in big volumes every year. 

This weekend, as soon as we heard the news, we were immediately reviewing travel plans to make sure the disruption to our clients, and to the doctors working with us was minimal, or nil. Thankfully, we were able to ensure that all of the staff  we had committed to work over the weekend arrived, and will be able to return home.

For now, the dispute is on hold pending further resolution, however we call on both parties to consider the effect on the health system, and to ensure that those who are travelling to work in critical areas such as healthcare are given priority for flights.

For real-time updates on this, and other issues follow us on Facebook andTwitter.

Beat Paramedics has launched!

Posted by Beat Medical

For intensive care paramedics who have reached a stage in their career where they want a change of pace, a temporary position, or a completely different career, Beat Paramedics will be able to help.

Beat Paramedics is owned by Leonie Shepstone, and Shaun Hughston, who have a high level of experience recruiting and managing medical and health staff across the world. Before starting Beat Medical, Shaun was previously a manager at a large international healthcare organisation, specialising in recruiting and liaising between paramedics and clients in the energy, mining and infrastructure sector. 

Using the success and systems from the Beat Medical recruitment organisation, we are now putting a new focus on helping paramedics explore new career possibilities, either as a complete shift in work, or just for a short term change in routine. 

Visit the Beat Paramedics website to view current job listings, and to express interest in hearing more about paramedic positions.

Launching the locum pay calculator

Posted by Beat Medical

One of the great benefits of working as a locum doctor is higher pay, and the flexibility that gives you to work when and where you want.

We're very excited to release the first iteration of the medical locum pay calculator, a new feature on our website that adds another layer of interactivity to our online tools.

With this device, you can use the interactive sliders to work out how much you can make over a certain number of hours per week. You can also compare that to your current working hours and salary. The best part is that you can email yourself an hour-for-hour comparison of of your current income vs potential locum income.

Obviously, the rates are indicative only - and provide an example based on averages. It is also important to consider safe working hours when making any decision about locum work.

Click on the image below to access the locum pay calculator.....

Part 1 - Getting started as a medical professional contractor

Posted by Beat Medical

Blowing the whistle on referees

Posted by Beat Medical

It is inevitable that you're going to be asked to provide details of referees for any locum position, training program, hospital or GP job.

The most common questions we are asked about referees are:

-who can be my referee?
-how recent do they have to be?
-what can I do if I get a bad reference?

Reference checks are used by employers and recruiters for a few different reasons. It ranges from the need to verify certain skills and experience, assess fit and personality, to simply 'checking out' what you have said in your application. In many cases, reference checks are used to differentiate between a number of similar candidates.

When providing a potential employer with referee details, consider the following:

1. Have they worked with you in the recent past?

A referee from twenty years ago is far less likely to provide meaningful, supportive information for your application. Try to stick with someone you have worked with in the past few months, up to twelve months ago at the maximum.

2. Were they your supervisor or peer?

Depending on your seniority, and the position, it is important to clarify for your potential employer who this person is in relation to you. In some cases, a reference from peer may not cut it. However, if you are applying for a very senior position and have not been actively supervised in many years, it may be your only option.

3. Does your referee relate to the position you are applying for?

Although your McDonald's shift supervisor from your high school job may be very positive about your performance, it may not be so relevant for that employer looking for a GP locum. Make sure your referee is suitable for the role you are applying for. We suggest even customising your referees to the position to make sure they can offer maximum value to your application.

4. Have you asked your referee to help?

Many of the referees we speak to every day have not been asked to be a referee. Not only is this uncomfortable for the referee, it makes life hard for the person taking the reference check. Do you think a surprised referee is going to give a positive, neutral, or negative reference? If you are going to be a locum, they may be contacted many times - make sure you let them know that, and the nature of the jobs you are applying for.

5. Afraid of a negative reference?

It's okay to ask your potential referees whether they will provide a positive reference about you. You might be surprised by the answer!

If you suspect that a referee has provided a negative reference, in most cases you can request a copy of the reference check from the potential employer. Under the Privacy Act, they may be required to provide a copy.

You should always have at least five potential referees up your sleeve. Not having one available may mean the difference between getting the job - and not.

Announcing Beat Paramedics... the next evolution

Posted by Beat Medical

This month, we're very excited to announce a new division of Beat Medical - Beat Paramedics.

Using our expertise in healthcare recruitment for regional and remote areas, we are aiming to help meet the unmet need for paramedics in regional areas, remote sites, mines, offshore installations, and vessels.

In addition to offering a professional, value-driven service for employers, we offer the same uniquely high level of service to Paramedics looking for temporary, casual, or long term positions. 

It is an interesting and unique area of recruitment which comes with many of the same challenges of medical recruitment - workforce shortages, logistical challenges, and getting the elusive mix of "right person, right place, right time".

With a growing team equipped to overcome these barriers, we look forward to working in the paramedic recruitment marketplace.

Watch for further announcements on the official launch of Beat Paramedics.

Finding locum jobs your way with Beat Medical

Posted by Beat Medical

As usual, we have been working like busy beavers behind the scene to make our online portal to work as user-friendly and interesting as possible.

As most of you know, we do not send out shift lists like many other agencies do - we think we can do better, and have a number of different options for you to keep track of the jobs we have on offer.

Job search

Visit our home page to search for jobs by specialty and location. From here you can apply for positions, refer a friend, and sign up for job alerts.

Locum jobs calendar

Now, through our newly revamped locum jobs calendar, you can access information about work in your specialty, at the time you would like to work. Simply select your area of interest, month, and year, and the system will display all advertised locum jobs in that period.

Job email alerts

Jobs are updated every day, so at the same time you can subscribe to daily email alerts - customised by your specialty, and location. 

Twitter feed

For the social media savvy, we have a real time twitter jobs feed, which displays jobs as they are added to our system. There is no way of being more up to date with available locum jobs. Go here to follow us.

Facebook

Keep track of feature jobs on our Facebook page, as well as the latest news, updates, and competitions.


Of course, if there is nothing on our website to suit your needs, get in contact with us on 1800 633 505 or send us an email with your request, and we will get back to you straight away.