The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) seriously questions the validity of figures and the recommendations made within the Commission of Audit report after it has been revealed figures have been grossly exaggerated.
The Appendix to the Commission of Audit report released last week states on page 19, “There are 50,000 general practitioners … in Australia”.
In contrast the Department of Health and Medicare Australia detail a much more conservative figure of approximately 29,000 Australian registered GPs; a figure that is in line with the current general practice workforce figures.
RACGP President, Dr Liz Marles said it is concerning a report of this stature is highlighting figures that are fundamentally incorrect.
“Incorrect figures have the power to influence the general public in a way that will have a profound impact on their understanding of the recommendations put forward by the report as well as the current health climate.
“We have seen a large public interest in health related proposals, such as the implementation of a co-payment model. For recommendations that have the potential to impact Australian’s universal access to healthcare to be based on ill-founded figures is of serious concern,” said Dr Marles.
Compounding this issue, National Commission of Audit (NCOA) Chair, Tony Sheppard has also been quoting incorrect figures on general practice visits in recent media interviews in response to recommendations made by the report on a co-payment model for general practice consultations.
In an interview with ABC he quoted, “If the average is 11 [general practice visits] for every man, women and child in Australia that would seem to us [NCOA] be a very high level.”
“These figures are based on assumptions and are not grounded by any evidence.
“On average 5.3 general practice consults per head[1] take place annually as detailed in the most recent report on general practice activity published by the Family Medicine Research Centre.
“Further supporting this figure, the total number of general practice consults that take place annually is 129 million[2]. If we divide that by the Australian population, we can conclude an average figure of 5.7 general practice consults per head of the population.
“If the recommendations in the report are informed by misquoted figures, we are essentially placing barriers to healthcare accessibility for Australians when they most need it based on dangerous assumptions rather than evidence,” said Dr Marles.
The RACGP is committed to achieving the best possible health outcomes for all Australians and encourages the Government to consult with the general practice profession before it considers any proposal that has the potential to profoundly impact the health of Australians.
[1] A decade of Australian general practice activity 2003–04 to 2012–13. Family Medicine Research Centre.
[2] Annual Medicare Statistics. The Department of Health.