The federal government has announced reforms to Medicare which are designed to positively impact rural communities.
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The reforms, most of which are set to come into effect on November 1, allow patients to receive Medicare rebates for after-care checks from their GP following specialist surgery.
While this would generally appear to be a necessary gesture from the government, Dr Ray Burn of Old Linton Medical Centre believed that it was an “anachronism”, and was long overdue in Australian healthcare.
“All over Australia, surgeons leave the taking out of stitches for the local doctor. And Medicare simply says ‘Oh, he should’ve included that in his own fee, so we won’t pay you for it,’” he said.
“The medical profession has been grinning and bearing it.”
Despite Dr Burn’s position, the Rural Doctors’ Association of Australia (RDAA) expressed its enthusiasm for the changes.
"These are sensible and welcome reforms that better recognise the important role of GPs in providing follow-up care after surgery,” Dr Ewan McPhee, RDAA President, said.
"The Government's reform will make it much easier for rural patients to see their local doctor for after-care consults, saving them time and money by not having to travel long distances to see the specialist for after-care."
In essence, Dr Burn agrees. However, he was more forthright when discussing communities in rural and remote Australia, as opposed to Yass which he believed would not be overly impacted by the reforms.
“In those cases [of remote Australian communities], it was more than ridiculous. It was cruel,” he said.
“If you follow the law strictly, people could be up for quite significant costs.”
Dr Burns said that it was fortunate that there were certain loopholes around these additional charges, which people were usually adroit enough to use.
Under the reforms, doctors will also be able to offer rebates for 31 simple procedures, such as vasectomies and removal of cysts.
Dr McPhee believes that the reforms will serve a longer-term purpose, by encouraging more general practitioners to consider starting a practice in rural communities.
