The financial crisis threatening Australian general practice
Australian primary care is in dire straits after 10 years of a government freeze on GP income. GPs must now choose between raising prices for their patients and economic survival, reports Bianca Nogrady “I was frantic. I was so busy that I felt unsafe.” Imaan Joshi was a final year general practice registrar in Sydney in 2013. She worked at a clinic that bulk billed—meaning it charged patients the same amount as the government Medicare rebate for the service they received, so patients get the consultation free. That same year, the federal government had implemented a freeze on the Medic...
Source: bmj.com
