The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) urges the Federal Government to extend its commitment to the health of all Australians by supporting three key aspects of general practice in the 2018–19 Federal Budget.
RACGP President Dr Bastian Seidel says the Federal Government can make a real difference for the health of Australians by supporting these initiatives identified by the RACGP.
- Increasing general practice exposure for junior doctors
- Supporting general practice patient research through improved infrastructure
- Implementing an antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) program in general practice
The RACGP 2018-19 pre-budget submission calls to increase junior doctor exposure to general practice to align medical training to real-world care.
“Junior doctors, regardless of intended specialty, will benefit from exposure to general practice,” Dr Seidel said.
“Australia is also facing a medical training crisis due to the disparity between increasing numbers of medical graduates and available medical training placements.
“The Federal Government can address both of these issues by establishing a national general practice placement program for junior doctors.”
Dr Seidel said the RACGP 2018-19 pre-budget submission also highlights the need for increased infrastructure and research funding to address the imbalance of ground level general practice research.
“Like other medical specialties, general practice is a profession worthy of comprehensive and reliable research,” Dr Seidel said.
“However, most medical research continues to be conducted in the hospital sector, despite most patient health issues being managed by GPs and their teams,” Dr Seidel said.
“Despite the fact that 85% of people will see their GP each year, primary healthcare research funding represents less than 4% of total National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding - general practice makes up an even smaller proportion of this.”
Dr Seidel said the third initiative to implement an AMS program will help address the increasing problem of antimicrobial resistance by supporting GPs in antibiotics prescribing and healthcare coordination.
“Antimicrobial resistance is a massive global issue – it has been forecast to cost up to $100 trillion in economic output by 2050,” Dr Seidel said.
“At a time when the world is facing a future with less effective antimicrobial agents, some harsh realities need to be faced by both clinicians and government.
“GPs are a vital part of the solution to this problem.
“Australia requires a collaborative, coordinated response from various sections of the community to address this issue.”
Visit the RACGP website to view the RACGP 2018–19 pre-budget submission.