The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) calls for the Woolworths plan to conduct preventive health checks in supermarkets to be scrapped amidst fears it will seriously undermine quality healthcare and place Australian’s health at risk.
The Woolworths health check scheme will see pharmacy students and trainee chemists and nurses administer cholesterol and blood pressure checks in-store.
RACGP President, Dr Liz Marles said the idea of conducting medical checks in a supermarket aisle by practitioners who are not appropriately qualified is a commercial venture that plays on time poor consumers.
“It sends a dangerous message that a free health check in a shopping centre could substitute for a genuine health check with a GP.
“This is a particularly precarious time to be implementing such a scheme with patients already anxious about the cost of the Federal Government’s proposed $7 co-payment when seeing a GP.
“It has the potential to create the impression among the public that a GP visit is no longer required because they have received a free health check.
“Supermarkets are an inappropriate setting to be discussing private matters and risk patient safety and quality of care by operating in isolation to any other part of the healthcare system.
“There is every chance a routine health check will reveal an underlying medical issue requiring follow-up tests and advice from a healthcare professional – a scenario where comprehensive patient history is crucial to inform future healthcare delivery,” said Dr Marles.
Evidence shows preventive health checks performed in other settings outside of general practice have no preventive health benefits1.
“This scheme, which appears to be more about boosting supermarket sales than genuine health interventions will only lead to fragmentation of care in a primary healthcare sector already fraught with obstacles for patients.
“This is an extremely irresponsible move from a retail supergiant that completely devalues the importance of preventative health checks conducted by a qualified GP who can provide appropriate advice and follow-up care,” said Dr Marles.
The RACGP calls for an immediate stop to the Woolworths health check scheme and reaffirms its long standing position that role and task substitution is not the answer to improving health outcomes.
1Moss JR, Sullivan TR, Newton SS, Stocks NP. Effectiveness of general practice-based health checks: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of General Practice. 2014; 64(618): e47–e53. doi: 10.3399/bjgp14X676456