Media releases
College of GPs welcomes Labor’s focus on e-health
16 August 2010
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has welcomed the Labor Party's announcement that they will invest $392.3 million in online consultations and videoconferencing across a range of specialties, should the Labor Government be re-elected.
The investment will include financial incentives for GPs and specialists who deliver online services ($56.8 million), as well as and funding to support innovative training and supervision for health professionals using online technologies ($35 million).
RACGP President Dr Chris Mitchell said that e-health is the future of medicine and this investment is very exciting and innovative for general practice.
“The College has consistently lobbied for investment in e-health and for greater flexibility in the delivery of consultations, including telephone medicine and video conferencing – this is a good outcome for our patients and general practice.
“Obviously, we would like to see more details regarding the implementation of this funding but, on the face of it, this sounds very innovative and exciting.
“e-health is about improving our patients' health outcomes and we believe that government health policies must commit to e-health initiatives. Information technology supports the work GPs do and connects us with the extended primary healthcare team, public health, mental health, and subspecialty services. Without greater use of e-health and improvements in medical information management systems, we will continue to expose our patients to unnecessary risks, including adverse events and medication errors as well as inefficiency.
“With around 115 million GP consultations taking place annually and computers now being used by 98 percent of GPs for clinical purposes, general practice is in an ideal position to be at the forefront of e-health,” he said.
Dr Mitchell said that the investment would have clear benefits for GPs, especially those in rural general practice who can also face additional workforce pressures.
“Online, video and tele-medicine are not substitutes for face-to-face contact; however, they have the capacity to save time for patients – and perhaps for GPs as well – while supporting GPs to provide high-quality care to the local communities that they serve.
The College will continue to work with the government to improve access to high quality care that better meets the needs of local communities.
The College's written responses on government health reform initiatives, including e-health announcements, can be accessed at www.racgp.org.au/healthreform.