Beat Medical Blog

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.