Take control: general practice

By Dr Rod Pearce

"Control your own destiny or someone else will." This quote from American businessman Jack Welch is something we may all wish to ponder as we approach a year when the Federal Government says it will tackle "major health reform". 

General practice occupies a special place in the community and the GPs I speak with every day put their patients well before any other considerations. 

There is no doubt that governments over many years have taken advantage of the goodwill of GPs. We see that in the refusal of successive governments to index the Medicare Benefits Schedule properly, in the changes to funding programs and, in some cases, the withdrawal of funding for specific services.

In recent times, we have seen the withdrawal of the Service Incentive Payment for completing an immunisation schedule, changes to the Practice Incentive Payment for e-health, the removal of items for joint and synovial injections and, more recently, the loss of support for electronic claiming. I could go on and on.

The implications of the Government's approach are very significant for general practice. We know that the viability of many practices is built on the MBS and other government programs - yet these can be changed at the stroke of a pen. How many other professions operate in the same way?

Most GPs I speak with also understand that significant investment is needed to help general practices provide a wider range of services to patients and to train the next generation of GPs.

The reality is that GPs must take greater control of their own destiny if they are to continue to attract new doctors into general practice and provide the range of services that patients expect. Waiting on the next handout from the Federal Government is not the best approach.

For my own practice, I recently sought independent professional advice that looked at the costs of maintaining the practice. This process opened my eyes and showed that my practice costs were growing faster than revenue. The advice I got was pretty straightforward: work out what it costs to provide the service and then structure your fees accordingly.

I took this on board and changed the way I did things. Some patients pay a little more, although I put in place policies to protect disadvantaged patients and to ensure they have access to care. Patients have responded well, recognising that they get good quality care and access to a broad range of medical and allied health services. It's a win-win situation.

It's time we shaped our future and the future of our practices. 

Businesses, even not-for-profit businesses, invest in themselves. I believe that making general practice more self-sufficient will deliver long-term benefits, preserve our clinical freedom and enhance our ability to provide quality care to our patients.

Dr Rod Pearce is Chair of the AMACGP.