General Practice Week 2008, Australia

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Article Date: 16 Jun 2008 - 4:00 PST

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General Practice Week (15-21 June) will highlight the importance of general practice in our health care system and show that GPs are leading the way to better health.

Each year, the Australian Medical Association puts the spotlight on general practice to emphasise the role that GPs play in making sure that patients get access to the health care services they need.

General Practice Week, formerly known as Family Doctor Week, reinforces the fact that GPs must be recognised and retained as leaders of the health care team.

AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said General Practice Week would focus public and government attention on how fundamental and vital GPs were in the health of the nation. Eighty per cent of Australians visited their GPs at least once a year and Australians are fortunate enough that they are able to spend more time with their GPs than people in comparable countries.

"Supporting GPs is a priority for the AMA as they are central to patient care," she said.

"Promoting the importance of GPs has never been more timely - with the Rudd Government placing primary care reform on the agenda.

"Medically-driven reform places patients first and governments must support the primary care of general practice.

"Task substitution, inadequate MBS indexation and funding cuts to pre-vocational GP training are examples of how NOT to support primary care.

"Fewer than 30 per cent of Australian graduates choose GP training for a career. If we want to lift this number, governments must pursue policies that give much better support for GPs."

Dr Capolingua said that the Government needed to ramp up the number of GP training places.

We want to attract more young doctors into general practice.

Topics the AMA will highlight during General Practice Week include:

- Protecting GPs against violence;
- Encouraging more young doctors to take up general practice;
- Using GP Super Clinics funding for a better outcome;
- Tackling chronic disease and delivering preventative health care;
- Cutting unnecessary red tape for doctors;
- Improving the use of general practice nurses; and
- Promoting GP services to aged care facilities.

Dr Capolingua will be addressing the National Press Club on issues affecting GPs on Wednesday, 18 June.

General Practice Week runs from Sunday, 15 June to Saturday, 21 June.

Australian Medical Association