The Federal Government has pledged its commitment to align rural and remote general practice incentives with community and workforce need by abolishing the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) in favour of a modified ‘Monash Model’.
Today’s announcement by Assistant Health Minister, The Hon. Fiona Nash, is the result of a review into the system that has faced wide-spread criticism from the general practice and wider health profession.
Having long advocated for the change, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ (RACGP) National Rural Faculty (NRF) welcomes the announcement.
RACGP NRF Chair, Dr Ayman Shenouda said the NRF is pleased the Government has recognised the limitations of the current model and proposed an alternate model that has the potential to positively transform how rural and remote general practice funding is delivered.
“One of the biggest drawbacks of the current system is that it reflects a ‘one size fits all’ approach which cannot adequately represent or address the unique healthcare requirements of individual rural and remote communities,” said Dr Shenouda.
“This has resulted in the maldistribution of the rural and remote general practice workforce and medical resources and inefficient use of incentive funding.
“Today’s announcement is a positive step towards a system that better supports the needs of GPs working in rural and remote communities and their patients.
“This model will provide targeted, effective incentive funding and assist in curbing the alarming trend of general practice workforce maldistribution.”
Minister Nash also announced that a committee will be established to finesse the details of the policy changes announced today.
The RACGP’s NRF has advocated for the implementation of a system that encompasses locational aspects to capture workforce and population data, including individual community need and context, and hopes to be consulted as part of the committee.
“Stronger discrimination between large and small towns in less remote areas of Australia allowing for greater flexibility in program adaptability is critical if we are to meet the evolving and complex healthcare needs of our rural and remote communities,” said Dr Shenouda.
“Rather than focusing solely on geographical data, a model that is underpinned by local community need will curb the misallocation of vital healthcare funding to rural and remote communities.
“Refining the DWS system by aligning it to an improved rural classification system will help provide more equitable outcomes and improved service continuity for smaller rural and remote communities.”
The RACGP looks forward to working with the Government on strengthening rural and remote primary healthcare.
The RACGP is the largest rural general practice representative body of any Australian specialist medical college, representing over 10,000 GPs working in or towards a career in rural general practice.