Doctors aged 70 and over will be required to undergo a confidential health check involving cognitive screening as part of crackdown on registered medical practitioners to weed out incompetence and improve patient safety.
The Medical Board of Australia on Tuesday announced the Professional Performance Framework to raise professional standards in Australia.
The assessment and management of substantiated complaints made against medical practitioners will also be strengthened under the new framework.
"We have designed a framework that will justify and strengthen the trust that the Australian community has in their doctors. It is focused on patient safety and will support doctors to provide high quality care throughout their working lives,' board chair Joanna Flynn said.
'Nothing is going to change tomorrow for individual doctors. We will be consulting widely and seeking expert advice on many elements of the framework,' Dr Flynn said.
Given the strong evidence on age-related risk of poor performance, the Medical Board of Australia said it recognised that addressing the issue to keep patients safe was a "must".
"Doctors tend to retire later than many other professionals and often wish to continue to make important professional contributions as they age," the board's report said
"Respecting and supporting this, the board believes it is time to also assure their continuing ability to provide safe clinical care by requiring peer review and health checks for doctors aged 70 years and older who provide clinical care to patients."
