The majority of general practitioners have indicated as much in this recent AMA survey of NSW members.
The question now could be asked: "If budget savings have to be made federally this year, should the government be putting $500,000,000 into a project that appears to have little support from the people who are meant to run the Medicare Locals. In fact, should the government be funding even those current Divisions of General Practice which are not even reflecting the beliefs of their members?"
You be the judge: Dump the yet to be accepted Medicare Locals project, or dump the scientific research programs that are known to deliver positive health outcomes for our country's, and the world's, population.
Results from first quarterly GP e-mail survey
There was an excellent response to our first single-issue email survey of GP members, with over 150 responses in 5 days. The full report can be found below.
The message seems clear – GPs are opposed to Medicare Locals as they are currently proposed.
Should they be established (as seems likely), Divisions should get involved in the tendering process but the roles of Medicare Locals should be limited to the types of things that Divisions currently do. GPs are strongly opposed to roles that include the provision or purchasing of health services.
Demographic Information
| Question: Are you male or female? Number who answered: 159 | ||
| Male | 103 | 65% |
| Female | 56 | 35% |
| Question: Where is your practice located? Number who answered: 159 | ||
| Gosford, Newcastle, Sydney or Wollongong | 97 | 61% |
| Rural / Regional | 62 | 39% |
| Question: What age group are you in? Number who answered: 159 | ||
| Younger than 40 | 9 | 6% |
| 40 to 49 | 29 | 18% |
| 50 to 65 | 97 | 61% |
| Older than 65 | 24 | 15% |
| Question: What sort of practice do you work in? Number who answered: 159 | ||
| Solo GP | 22 | 14% |
| Group practice | 114 | 72% |
| Corporate | 12 | 8% |
| Other answers | 11 | 7% |
Support for the AMA position and GP Divisions
| Question: Do you support the AMA position on Medicare Locals? Number who answered: 143 | |
| Yes | No |
| 123 | 20 |
| 86% | 14% |
| Question: Do you support the concept of the replacement of GP Divisions with primary health care organisations? Number who answered: 139 | |
| Yes | No |
| 40 | 99 |
| 29% | 71% |
| Question: Do you support the continuation of Divisions? Number who answered: 99 | |
| Yes | No |
| 75 | 24 |
| 76% | 24% |
Roles and management of Medicare Locals
| Question: What roles should primary health care organisations undertake? Number who answered: 134 | ||
| Activities currently undertaken by Divisions | 84 | 63% |
| Training for practice nurses and allied health practitioners | 63 | 47% |
| Improving integration between primary care and hospital services | 97 | 72% |
| Development of local primary health care policy | 70 | 52% |
| Identification of gaps in local primary health care services | 92 | 69% |
| Employment of nurses and allied health practitioners | 35 | 26% |
| Provision of primary health care services | 27 | 20% |
| Purchasing health services from GPs and other primary health practitioners | 26 | 19% |
| Managing Commonwealth and/or State primary health care funding | 27 | 20% |
| Other answers | 15 | 11% |
| Question: Do you support Divisions tendering for the right to run Medicare Locals? Number who answered: 134 | |
| Yes | No |
| 83 | 51 |
| 62% | 38% |
