The future of General Practice in Australia is very uncertain. On a macroeconomic level, the country’s economy is expected to grow by just 1.75% during the next two years, which is slower than it has ever been outside of a recession. Inflation is rising at a 6.1% rate, and this is a truly dire situation that points to increased unemployment and declining wage growth.
Additionally, freezes on Medicare rebates, the shortage of doctors in rural and regional areas, border closures that have halted the recruitment of international medical graduates, the profession’s unsustainable workload and burnout, the continual policy rollout, chronic underfunding, and general undervaluing of the work done in General Practice have all taken their toll, with Payroll tax being the last straw for GP practice owners.
A 2021 study on the Care Workforce Labour Market estimates Australia’s caring economy to face a shortage of over 200,000 full-time care workers by 2050 as demand doubles within a generation, with a predicted gap in the workforce emerging earlier than expected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report suggests that by 2027-28, shortages will be most severe among the aged, disability, and mental health care sectors, as well as nursing support and personal care workers, but there will also be a shortage of registered nurses, health and welfare services managers, and nurse managers.
With the current macroeconomic backdrop being tighter than ever, the forecasts could be both larger than anticipated and emerging even more quickly than noted in the study. Several medical associations such as The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) are urging the government to secure the future of General Practice care so that no patients anywhere in Australia are left behind. And the best way to achieve this is by immediately boosting investment in General Practice so that it is placed on a more sustainable, long-term financial foundation, which will help draw more future doctors into the profession.
General Practice is also subjected to an excessive administrative burden. Most GPs say that the time that could be spent providing patient care is diverted to ensure Medicare compliance. Furthermore, due to the recent change in the government’s Payroll Tax legislation, General Practices may be subject to harsh financial penalties and interest charges on payroll tax amounts that they were not previously required to pay.
With state and territory governments being able to issue payroll tax arrears to General Practices, there is no incentive for doctors to become practice owners anymore because they would be paid more as independent contractors as opposed to running a medical business. Unless the Government takes immediate action on these issues right away, the health of the nation will deterioriate. After all, a thriving, accessible and high-quality General Practice sector is vital to the health of Australia!
In the interim, while we wait for policy improvements, there are actions that Practice Owners can take to ease the burden. And Scale My Clinic, Australia’s premier business coaching service exclusively for GP owners, can help with that! Scale My Clinic personally coaches GP Owners to uncover their clinic’s full potential, receive larger financial rewards, find and reduce unnecessary costs, create bigger and faster impact, and manage money in a way that minimises risks.
Without adding new services, staff, or hours, Scale My Clinic’s well-known and ongoing “250k GP Treasure Hunt” challenge assists GPs in finding at least $250,000 of extra value in their GP clinics in just 5 hours. The company has successfully found $10,792,774 hidden in GP Clinics so far. So, if you are a Practice Owner looking to uncover additional profit hidden in your Clinic, you can sign up for the challenge (workshop) through the event website: https://www.scalemyclinic.com.au/250k-gp-treasure-hunt-oct/
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About us:
About Scale My Clinic
Scale My Clinic was founded in Melbourne in 2019 with the vision of creating impact and serving the General Practice community in Australia. With over 35 years of combined business knowledge and clinical expertise in the General Practice space, Co-Founders Dr Todd Cameron and Dr Sachin Patel established Scale My Clinic – Australia’s only business coaching service exclusively dedicated to helping private GP owners improve their businesses, overcome challenges, enjoy higher returns, and strike a better work-life balance as they continue to make a difference in their patients’ lives. Scale My Clinic provides industry-proven methods and techniques in Business Excellence to propel clinic growth and create successful results in any General practice – startup, small, large or multi-site!
