Name: Dr Christine Barstad, AMA Tasmania
What drew you to medicine?
I was drawn to medicine because of a desire to help people in a very concrete way and have a positive impact on the community in which I live. Throughout my career I have been able to fulfill that vision, having started as a rural generalist — delivering babies, handling emergencies, treating hospital patients and GP clinic patients, and now by splitting my time between a private mental health unit which focuses on trauma and a general practice.
What are your favourite and least favourite parts of general practice?
It doesn't get any better than bringing a new baby into the world, or seeing a patient with depression, who you have treated recently, out in the community enjoying their life. I am so glad I chose to become a doctor — of course, I have to manoeuvre through the current problematic digitised siloed systems to try to secure the care a patient needs, which I find incredibly frustrating. Then spending hours advocating for the patient to secure the care needed, and in a timely fashion. This process consumes valuable GP energies and time, since that task doesn't always fall within the capabilities of the support staff. That time should be reimbursed whether the patient is present or not.
What is your top advocacy priority and why?
My top advocacy issue this year is to secure adequate reimbursement for GP management plans and team care arrangements by ensuring the health minister has a thorough understanding of the value of a well-organised GP management plan and team care arrangement, as well as the skill and investment of time, in consultation with the patient, that a diligent GP takes to create one. These are the foundation of good chronic care designed to maximise a patient's health and reduce hospital admissions and DEM visits.
What do you think is the biggest challenge for GPs at the moment?
The biggest challenge I see for GPs this year is to be able to handle the depth and breadth of the medical conditions which they are increasingly expected to manage at a specialist level.
