General Practitioner crisis as government announces plans to deal with health care

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said primary care had reached crisis point while the government announced the formation of a Strengthening Medicare Task Force aimed at tackling key issues including access and affordability.

Medical office - middle-aged male doctor greeting patient, shaking hands. Source: Flickr

Primary Care is a vital provision for all Australians, but the sector is now reaching boiling point.

Asurvey of nearly 500 Australian general practitioners found that 22 per cent of respondents recently changed their billing model.

33 per cent of them switched from bulk billing to mixed billing, and 67 per cent from mixed to personal.

Itmay come as no surprise that 77 percent of respondents attributed the change to rising costs.

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