Four PhD’s and an MA find no purpose for revalidation

“Revalidation is a ‘bureaucratic process in search of a purpose’ and there is no compelling case or evidence to justify its introduction, spokesman for the Australian Doctors’ Fund (ADF)”, Dr Aniello Iannuzzi said in Coonabarabran NSW today.

‘’The more the ADF has examined the MBA proposal for revalidation, the more bizarre it appears. Not only was revalidation hanging around like an unwanted suitor for 15 years in the UK before it was introduced, there is no evidence that it has made any difference whatsoever to patient outcomes in the NHS.’’

Since the introduction of revalidation into the UK 5 years ago, negligence claims against NHS doctors have   risen to record levels of A$2.3billion in 2015, up from A$955 million in 2008.[1]

“In 2015 four PhD researchers, could not find a defined purpose for the process, because there isn’t one,” Dr Iannuzzi said: The researchers concluded:

“By identifying a lack of clarity about what the purpose of revalidation is, we have placed a spotlight on why the pendulum had swung backwards and forwards for 15 years before revalidation was formally established, and why achieving that was so difficult. But our findings are important for the future also, as without a defined purpose for revalidation, it is unlikely that such a complex intervention will deliver the desired impacts.”

[Julian Archer MD PhD, Sam Regan de Bere PhD, Susanne Nunn PhD, Jonathan Clark MA, and Oonagh Corrigan PhD, Academic Medicine Journal, v.90, no.1, Jan 2015, ‘No one has yet properly articulated what we are trying to achieve’]

There are reports that the RACGP and RANZCP have launched into imposing revalidation on their fellows without any consultation and without adequate evidence that revalidation will make any measurable improvement in patient outcomes.

Australian doctors should reject any proposal that has no impact on patient outcomes and consumes valuable clinical time.

“The reality is there is no compelling case for the introduction of revalidation,” Dr Iannuzzi said.

Contact:

Dr Aniello Iannuzzi                                                         Stephen Milgate
Director                                                                              Director & CEO
Australian Doctors’ Fund                                               Australian Doctors’ Fund
(02) 9567 5595                                                                  0425 283 411