The current federal government Inquiry into Access and Affordability of Medical Specialists in Australia has focussed heavily on growing out-of-pocket payments for Australians accessing medical specialist care and suggested that specialist fees are a primary cause of this increasing burden.
The ADF refutes this suggestion, and agrees with the conclusions reached by the comprehensive submission from the Council of Procedural Specialists that:
1. The proposition that a recent rise in Australian medical specialist fees is responsible for the difficulties some Australian face accessing specialist medical care is not supported by the evidence.
2. The evidence shows that issues associated with affordability of specialist care for vulnerable Australians are long standing and ongoing issues of public sector capacity and need to be addressed with urgency.
3. Government co-operation with and support for Australia’s medical specialists, rather than punitive approaches, is the best way to address this long-standing difficult issue.
4. Australia’s private medical specialist workforce can be better utilised to provide more public sector medical services for vulnerable Australians.
5. Existing consumer legislation in all States and Territories is able to provide scrutiny and redress for opportunistic and exploitative behaviour of all businesses, including private medical practices.
6. Private medical practice in Australia is not perfect. But Australia’s private public health sector balance is infinitely superior to US style managed care or the UK government-controlled NHS and has significantly contributed to Australia’s world’s best outcomes.
The Council’s full submission can be read here.
The ADF echoes the Council of Procedural Specialists’ call to urgently increase the provision of public specialist services to support those Australians who are unable to afford private specialist care.
The ADF stands for the independence of the medical profession and the doctor/patient relationship from all third party interference. Any attempts by governments, health funds or any other third party to dictate how individual medical specialists fulfill their responsibilities to their patients and run their practices should be rejected.