The AMA is calling for the restoration of Practice Incentive Program (PIP) payments to general practices to support the provision of quality after hours primary care services in local communities.
The PIP call is a key plank of the AMA’s submission to the Government’s After Hours Primary Health Care Review (After Hours Review).
AMA President, A/Prof Brian Owler, said today that the former Government cut direct PIP funding to general practices that provided after hours services, and shifted the funding to Medicare Locals, a move that was opposed by the AMA at the time.
“Cutting the direct PIP payments to general practices was a big mistake,” A/Prof Owler said.
“It created a clumsy new layer of bureaucracy with Medicare Locals responsible for channelling the funding to after hours service providers.
“Many Medicare Locals failed to work with general practice to support high quality and accessible after hours services for patients. There was increased red tape and compliance costs for general practices, and there is no evidence of greater efficiencies
“The new arrangements placed additional burdens on general practices that were operating successful after hours services, and demotivated GPs from providing after hours care.”
A/Prof Owler said that GPs have traditionally provided after hours care to their own patients as part of a comprehensive approach to quality care, and this model should continue to be supported.
“There is no doubt that the best outcomes for patients are achieved where the GP has knowledge of the patient and access to their medical records,” A/Prof Owler said.
“The restoration of PIP after hours incentives should address the needs of most parts of the country. Where there are identified gaps in after hours service provision, targeted funding should be made available to address them.”
A/Prof Owler said that the AMA recognises the challenges faced in providing after hours services in many rural areas.
“Our submission highlights that models in these areas need to be innovative and flexible to ensure patient access to after hours services and an equitable spread of the after hours workload among providers.”
The AMA Submission to the After Hours Primary Health Care Reviews is at https://ama.com.au/submission-after-hours-primary-health-care-review
The AMA Position Statement on Out of Hours Primary Medical Care is at https://ama.com.au/position-statement/out-hours-primary-medical-care-2004-revised-2011