AMA President’s update: National Leadership Alliance, assignment of benefit changes, farewelling Fiona Davies, specialist fees, pharmacy prescribing, and more

Happy Friday! 

Another packed week at federal AMA! 

And there’s no better way to round it off than getting out the loudest pair of socks in the drawer to mark Crazy Socks 4 Docs today. This annual initiative is a great cause and one I always encourage colleagues to take part in because being comfortable talking about mental health challenges in our profession is important for all of us. 

I might have my wackiest socks on today but there certainly hasn’t been time to put the feet up since my last update. 

While on the topic of doctors’ health, the National Leadership Alliance met yesterday. This is the group which has shepherded the Every Doctor, Every Setting framework and implementation action plan for the past few years. Sadly, program funding will come to an end in a few weeks, but resources will remain available and we all must do our part to ensure the framework lives on. If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, please do. We talk a lot about workplace culture and systems changes that are needed for us to all have safer, happier workplaces. This framework spells out how to implement those reforms. 

In the past few years there have been some brilliant successes like the implementation of the registrar program at RACGP, and the option of coding occupation on death registries. While these are two very different actions, they both support doctors’ health — one very directly, and one by helping gather data to better support further advocacy and reforms. 

Last weekend our Federal Council met and, as ever, we covered a lot of AMA policy ground. Strong discussions were had around various key priorities including diversity in the AMA, necessary mental health system reforms, transparency of specialty training fees, and rural workforce. Keep an eye out for more on all these issues as we release updated policies. 

Some of you, particularly those in general practice, might be feeling nervous about Assignment of Benefit (AoB) changes for bulk billed consultations from July 1 . I met again with the department this week to impress upon them the impacts on workflow, and to reiterate our concerns around AoB, particularly in aged care settings. It’s important to note that the rules and regulations around the need to collect assignment of benefit hasn’t changed — what has changed is we now need to store this AoB, and the form it takes is more flexible. 

While verbal assignment of benefit (introduced in Covid times) will no longer be allowed, we have been successful in having the paper ‘prescribed’ form ditched amid a shift to more electronic options. We know AoB remains impractical in aged care facilities so we’ll continue working with the department in an effort to ensure unnecessary red tape doesn’t get in the way of good quality care in those settings. 

The department emphasised that it will take an educative approach to support practices to comply with AoB requirements as they transition to the new arrangements. They also acknowledged that for some practices this will be a significant change and emphasised that bulk billed claims can continue to be lodged through the normal claiming channels.    

We can all look forward to next year when enduring assignment begins and your regular patients won’t have to tick a box every time! 

On Wednesday, I met with colleagues at the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges stakeholder session. These occasions are always a good opportunity to share ideas and hear how different facets of our profession plan to approach the opportunities and challenges coming up. This meeting’s focus was on professionalism in medicine, and it was a good opportunity to remind them of the Every Doctor, Every Setting framework, which I’ve mentioned already (and many colleges have signed up to support), and also our recently-updated AMA Code of Ethics — a profession-led document outlining expected behaviours, including professionalism from doctors of all specialties.  

Specialist fees continued to make headlines this week, with some of that coverage again falling wide of the mark in attempts to identify the root cause of the growing out-of-pocket costs being faced by Australians. Here at federal AMA, we are committed to highlighting the funding gaps that are behind the issue and will continue to provide the media, public, and key stakeholders with insights to educate and inform their view on the matter. 

Another recurring and hot topic cropped up this week, with the publication of data evaluating the NSW pharmacist prescribing trial. The very fact that the NSW government has adopted a measured approach to considering pharmacist prescribing, rather than going full tilt with no proper evaluation, is to be applauded. 

The evaluation reveals a number of data points that support the AMA’s stance that expanding prescribing avenues without proper medical oversight and continuity of care is unwise and not beneficial. The report indicated a high likelihood of antibiotics being prescribed, a matter of concern we’ve long warned about. Antimicrobial stewardship must be maintained through consistent, system-wide oversight. Removing medical practitioners from the process heightens the risk of increased antibiotic use at scale. 

Enjoy your weekend, particularly if you find yourself in one of the states and territories with a public holiday on Monday!