Investment in general practice — the cornerstone of Australia's health system — will be one of the priorities for the Australian Medical Association's new presidential team, with President Dr Danielle McMullen and Vice President Associate Professor Julian Rait beginning their terms today.
Dr Danielle McMullen, a Brisbane-based general practitioner, was elected President unopposed in July. She has been AMA Vice President for the past two years. Associate Professor Julian Rait is a specialist ophthalmologist and past president of AMA Victoria.
Dr McMullen said boosting investment in general practice is essential, with GPs looking after Australians from birth to death and through all the ups and downs in between.
"Patients need a usual GP working in a team to ensure they can access care when they need it, to prevent their illness deteriorating to the point they need to be in hospital," Dr McMullen said.
"Investing in general practice will also contribute to keeping people out of our public hospitals, which are in logjam. We know our public hospitals are continuing to struggle with performance against emergency department and elective surgery measures dropping year-on-year.
"We welcomed the additional investment in hospital funding announced last year for the new National Health Reform Agreement that followed our logjam campaign, but we need immediate additional funding to tackle the huge waiting lists across the country and help get patients the treatment they desperately need."
Associate Professor Rait said the AMA would continue its advocacy in private health, with plenty of challenges facing the sector.
"The AMA has been calling for reform of the private health sector — a vital pillar of the health system — for some time now," Associate Professor Rait said.
"We need a sustainable private health system that delivers value for patients, protects patient choice, and maintains clinical independence for practitioners.
"Many of the policy settings for the private health sector were established a very long time ago and it's been a case of set and forget. We need to rethink those policies, and we need an independent single authority that can oversee the entire sector."
Dr McMullen also highlighted the need for investment in preventive health, which she said was also key to improving Australia's healthcare system.
"Prevention is key to an effective health system, with the burden of chronic disease in an ageing population impacting the healthcare sector across the board.
"Healthcare is still viewed as a cost rather than a strategic investment. This creates a system that responds to poor health outcomes rather than preventing them. We need to change this thinking."
