28 September 2018


RACGP bid to host WONCA World Conference 2022

The RACGP is bidding to host more than 4000 GPs and family doctors from around the world at the WONCA World Conference 2022. 

WONCA is the World Organization of Family Doctors, representing family physicians and GPs from all regions of the world to improve the quality of life of all peoples. Its inauguration took place in Melbourne in 1972.

If the bid is successful, the WONCA World Conference would be combined with the RACGP’s annual conference, GP22, in Sydney in October 2022, bringing GPs from around the globe together to learn and connect.

RACGP Immediate Past President, Dr Frank Jones, will present the RACGP’s bid to bring the WONCA World Conference to Australia in 2022 in Korea next month.

The RACGP’s lobby video has been delivered to the members of WONCA and we encourage RACGP members to view and share it with their networks.


Health of the Nation Report launch video

On 19 September 2018 the RACGP launched the second General Practice: Health of the Nation report in Canberra to members of parliament, the medical and the general practice community, media and to RACGP members Australia-wide.

The Health of the Nation report takes the pulse of Australian general practice through  commissioned research involving more than 1300 RACGP Fellows from all parts of Australia, as well as information from the MABEL (Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life) Survey and a range of government publications, to provide a unique overview of the general practice sector.

Visit the RACGP’s YouTube channel to watch the full launch of the report or visit the RACGP website to download the report.


In Practice poll – GP billing behaviours when facing rising patient out-of-pocket costs

General practices are under increasing financial pressure, as funding fails to keep pace with the cost of providing services.

As a result of the 2017–18 Federal Budget announcement to reindex the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), some MBS items, including bulk-billing incentive items and standard GP consultation items, are now being indexed. However, the level of indexation itself does not cover the increased costs that practices have experienced over the period of the MBS freeze, or the continuing increase in costs experienced by practices year on year. For example, the 1 July 2018 indexation of item 23 resulted in a $0.55 increase for a Standard level B consultation.

The RACGP’s General Practice: Health of the Nation 2018 report found that:

  • maintaining cash flow was the third highest business challenge facing GPs
  • Medicare rebates were of the highest concern among health system issues faced by GPs.

The RACGP wants to better understand whether the current general practice funding environment is impacting your decision to change the way you bill your patients in the near future.
 


Media enquiries

Journalists and media outlets seeking comment and information from the RACGP should contact:

John Ronan

Senior Media Advisor