Working to cut red tape in general practice

8/02/2018 2:01:47 PM

The RACGP will address the Senate Red Tape Committee inquiry into Health Services, focusing on a number of key issues for Australian GPs.

Dr Nathan Pinskier, Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee – eHealth and Practice Services, will appear in front of the Senate Red Tape Committee inquiry into Health Services.

The RACGP believes red tape in general practice has far-reaching consequences for patients and the wider profession, and can result in delayed, fragmented and/or uncoordinated care.

According to the General practice: Health of the nation 2017 report, GPs spend around 20% of their working week on management, administration and indirect patient care, tasks that significantly impact on time in clinical practice.

The RACGP has previously identified a number of general practice red tape issues it wanted addressed:

Authority requirements for medications
Paperwork required for general practice management plans and team care arrangements
Claiming Practice Incentive Program (PIP) teaching payments
State and territory requirements associated with establishing and running a general practice (such as building and construction, and occupational health and safety).

In addition, the RACGP has since identified further issues it believes must be addressed, categorised into two broad areas:

Excessive or restrictive requirements associated with service provision
Lack of appropriate electronic systems and communication

‘The removal of red tape, or a streamlining of processes, would reduce the amount of time GPs and other clinical staff spend on administration, allowing more time to deliver safe, high-quality health services,’ RACGP President Dr Bastian Seidel told newsGP.

The Senate Red Tape Committee inquiry into Health Services is scheduled to start at 9.00 am on Friday 9 February. Dr Nathan Pinskier, Chair of the RACGP Expert Committee – eHealth and Practice Services (REC–eHPS) will be appearing in front of the committee between 9.45–10.30 am. The inquiry can be streamed here.

The RACGP is inviting members to identify any other issues of red tape they face in their practice at advocacy@racgp.org.au

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Dr A.G. Higham 19B Whale Vw Bunbury WA 6230 10/02/2018 7:14:08 PM

regarding paperwork e.g. team care arrangements etc--the problem goes much further than those specified--to select one of many example ;the ACROD form for disabled parking. The form used to consist of a single sheet of A4. It now has no less than 8 pages of which the first 3 explain how to fill in the other 5!! .governments promise to reduce red tape but perhaps they should tell the bureaucrats who generate it, or our lives will continue to deteriorate steadily , costs will continue to increase with no benefit to the patient or the system.

Dr Jim Marwood 12/02/2018 2:59:50 PM

We all experience the frequent delays in gaining audience with an Authority Rx number provider. The service has to be available 24/7. Meanwhile Vet Affairs are providing a parallel 24/7 service. If the two classes of patient really continue to need differing drug lists, then both sets of operators should be combined to deal with both lists and thus reduce our wasted telephone time at no extra cost.

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