The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) recently released a report that paints a troubling picture. General practitioners (GPs) in Australia are increasingly becoming the backbone of management for conditions that GPs previously referred to specialist physicians. Our research results indicate that 90% of GPs frequently address these unique health considerations. This represents a fundamental change in the technical assistance and capacity-strengthening role of primary care providers.
The RACGP report does highlight one very positive and unexpected trend. An alarming 57 per cent of GPs often have to deal with specialist conditions. The trend is a reminder of the growing complexity of patient presentations. As the Australian population continues to age, an increasing number of Australians are living with chronic health conditions, including mental health distress. As a result, GPs are absorbing more long appointments to address the needs of their patients.
According to the BBC, in real terms, GP consultation fees have gone up by almost 10 percent over the last 2 years. The average appointment time has extended from 18.7 minutes to 19.7 minutes, indicating that GPs are investing more time in each patient visit. Female GPs were unique in their prioritization of good care to patients. A mere 46 percent of them spend 16 to 20 minutes per visit, spending no time at all with patients. This compares with 42 percent of male GPs who spend an average of 11 to 15 minutes with patients.
As the RACGP report indicates, complex care is the main focus of the day for over two-thirds of GPs. The hard work of many practitioners often goes unrecognized and unrewarded. One major trend on the rise is that more people are delaying GP treatment due to the expense. That’s an increase from 7 percent to 8.8 percent in only the last two years. Patients typically only pay around $39 for a visit that lasts six to twenty minutes. This figure is net of the $42.85 Medicare rebate.
Now, nearly half of all practicing GPs charge $90 or more for standard consultations. This new reality of explosive pricing reveals the economic burden not only on healthcare workers but on patients pursuing necessary care. The report, which took evidence from 2,416 practicing GPs, 180 non-practicing GPs and 315 GPs in training. It also incorporated data from other sectors’ sources.
Currently, the GP workforce is made up of approximately 17,079 male GPs and 12,893 female GPs. Male GPs represent a higher percentage of the full-time equivalent GP workforce. The heightened complexity of cases that GPs are required to manage is not accompanied by an increase in consultation time, support or remuneration.
“Long-term trends also showed fewer GPs were bulk billing all of their patients, and more GPs were bulk billing either a minority of patients or none at all.” – Article based on RACGP report
