Not only do GPs make up the most cost effective pillar of the Australian healthcare system, they are working harder than ever, according to two new reports published by the University of Sydney’s Bettering the Evaluation and Care of Health (BEACH) program.
The reports, General practice activity in Australia 2013–14 and A decade of Australian general practice 2004–05 to 2013–14, reveal Australian GPs are treating a higher number of more complex and chronic medical conditions due to an ageing and increasingly overweight population.
They also revealed that while taxpayer spending on GP services through Medicare rose by 50 per cent over the last decade to make up 6 per cent of total government health expenditure, this cost would have been significantly higher if the same services were performed outside a general practice setting.
RACGP President, Dr Frank R Jones said investment in general practice, which has long been undervalued as a specialty, has the least impact on Australians’ hip pocket and delivers optimum and quality health outcomes for patients.
“These report findings come as no surprise to the RACGP which has long maintained investment in primary healthcare will drive long-term savings for the Australian Government and increase Australians’ overall wellbeing,” said Dr Jones.
“The suggestion that primary healthcare expenditure is ‘unsustainable’ has been repeatedly refuted by evidence-based research and these reports further prove that any move to abolish access to universal healthcare in Australia will have critical consequences.
“The Government needs to recognise that general practice is not the problem, and that the proposed co-payment model is not the solution, we will see a serious risk to patient safety as well as considerably increased healthcare expenditure in the long term.
“The Australian population is ageing and this is directly attributable to our world-class healthcare system. This means GPs are managing an unprecedented number of complex, chronic medical conditions within their communities with little additional support.”
The reports also highlight that the cost of primary healthcare has risen by a mere $60 per person over the past ten years, yet GPs provided 35 million more services to patients, 17 million of which were aged 65 years and over.
By comparison, expenditure per person on public hospitals each month equates to around $149.
GPs are also spending an extra ten million clinical hours with their patients and managing an additional 68 million health problems, an increase of 48 per cent from the previous decade.
“Preventative health is key to achieving savings in the healthcare system and Medicare initiatives have significantly increased the likelihood of early diagnosis and intervention,” said Dr Jones.
“These reports reaffirm the reliance Australian communities place on Australian GPs and the RACGP urges the Government to retract any proposed budgetary measures that jeopardise its capacity to deliver quality patient care.”
The RACGP remains committed to achieving the best possible health outcomes for all Australians and will continue to advocate for a ‘Healthy Profession. Healthy Australia.’