The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has today warned that the joint “investigation” conducted by Nine newspapers and the ABC’s 7.30 has the potential to cause lasting damage to the nation’s GP workforce.
It comes following the ABC’s own Sophie Scott challenging claims that Medicare fraud is widespread and instead acknowledging that the Medicare system itself, rather than doctor fraud, is “at the heart of the problem”.
RACGP President Adj. Professor Karen Price said it was heartening that more and more people were questioning the claims made by Nine newspapers and the ABC.
“The tide is turning quickly and for good reason – the vast majority of doctors do the right thing and certainly don’t deserve to be slurred by sensationalist media coverage,” she said.
“The problem is not dishonest doctors; it is the complexity of the Medicare system and the headaches this causes for busy GPs every single day. Just recently, our own Health of the Nation report found 47% of doctors either avoided providing certain services or avoided claiming patient rebates out of fear of Medicare compliance ramifications. To take just one example, there are over 30 mandatory requirements for a GP Management Plan and Team Care Arrangements. These requirements are overly prescriptive and are all about box ticking as opposed to the quality of care actually provided to the patient. This is why the RACGP has been calling for increased resources for Medicare education to support GPs to better understand billing requirements and to give them a chance to correct any inadvertent mistakes.
“It is so important to be mindful of the toll Medicare complexity takes on GPs and how it impacts patient care. More than three-quarters of respondents to the Health of the Nation survey said that ensuring compliance with Medicare takes time away from actually caring for patients. It is, therefore, hardly surprising to find 61% reported that the complexity of Medicare is something that worries them outside of their work day when they head home.
“Something else that was entirely missing from the ABC and Nine newspapers story was the immense and increasing amount of unpaid work GPs do such as managing Centrelink and NDIS paperwork, filling requests for patients who have forgotten repeat scripts, talking on the phone to patients and their concerned relatives and loved ones, patient care coordination and following up with specialists to name just a few. This is just another reason why this sensationalist reporting was such a kick in the guts for GPs – we go above and beyond for our patients every day.”
Adj. Professor Karen Price said she was concerned about the lasting impact of the allegations.
“I fear this will reverberate for years to come and have a negative impact on the future of an already teetering GP workforce,” she said.
“We are having enough difficulty attracting doctors to the profession and keeping them. Less than 14% of future doctors are choosing general practice as their career of choice and the challenge of sourcing and retaining GPs has become the highest priority challenge reported by practice owners in 2022. This story certainly will not make that task any easier, especially since the morale of the profession is now at rock bottom.
“The story will also damage the vital trust patients have in the health system, which is shameful. This will prove particularly detrimental for patient care if it results in some patients delaying or avoiding seeking care. I am already hearing reports of patients abusing general practice team staff and accusing them of rorting the system. After everything that GPs and general practice teams went through during the pandemic and, in particular, the troubled vaccine rollout, that is just appalling to hear. General practice teams bore the brunt of patient frustrations about vaccine shortages and changes to eligibility criteria in 2021. They are already burnt out and now they have to deal with this towards the end of a very long year.
“As one of our spokespeople Dr Cathy Andronis said last week – many GPs viewed the story as a personal affront. Like her, I urge those impacted to practice self-care, and be kind to yourselves.”
The RACGP President also said it was extremely disappointing that the reporting occurred without proper due diligence.
“The RACGP was not given an opportunity to respond before details of this story were splashed across the papers,” she said.
“Despite the very serious nature of the allegations being alleged, the RACGP was not given any chance to comment, or provide a right of reply. My understanding is that the AMA were also not given the chance to comment.
“I am not a journalist but that strikes me as one-sided and extremely unfair, particularly given the ramifications of this story on the future of my profession. It was sloppy, unreasonable, tabloid-style journalism not befitting of our national broadcaster. The RACGP looks forward to seeing whether the Nine papers and 7.30 allegations are challenged by the ABC’s own Media Watch, we will have to wait and see.”
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