Respondent demographics: 142 GPs participated in this pole – 40% were female, 60% male.
Scroll your cursor over the charts to see the percentages.
Do you support philanthropy by Western Australians as a desirable way of funding community health care?
Doctors Comment
Respondents swung between those who thought the wealth of the state’s resources boom should help those less fortunate to health care being the responsibility of government. “We pay so much tax surely community health care should not need donations.”
Many felt that philanthropy offered “unequal care” and the government should provide even and sustainable funding. Funding from philanthropy should be viewed as a “top-up” source for the health budget. “[Philanthropy] makes a valuable contribution but cannot be relied upon as primary funding. Funding universal health care is a government function. If left to private or philanthropic sources, the most vulnerable will fall through the cracks.”
However, a number acknowledged that there was a limit to health care funding. “It is best that all of us who are capable i.e. healthy, working, reliable, regard it essential, like defence spending.” “Those who can afford to give should be encouraged to do so.”
Several respondents said philanthropy could be best used to top up research which was chronically underfunded.
For one doctor, the issue was close to home. While time constraints made personal philanthropy tricky, this person thought it existed in the profession – among GPs “more likely than those in other specialities.” “There is, however, still a perception amongst the public that all doctors are greedy and earn much too much money. This can be very irritating, particularly if comments extend to one’s children which happened to mine community.”
Last word: “We should all be doing SOME pro bono work.”
Do you agree with the RACGP idea that patients with specified health problems in need of chronic care are registered with a particular general practice to receive that care?
Doctors Comment
Among those who chose to comment, there was a general consensus that chronic disease management was hamstrung by patients not being registered with a practice and noting a waste of resources chasing up patients who flit between practices.
Medicare came in for criticism. “If patients are to register with a practice for complex care there needs to be more flexible remuneration so we can get nurses to actually spend time coordinating that care.”
For one respondent, registration needs to be even more personal. “Rather than registering with a practice, a patient should register with a doctor. I have worked in multi-doctor practices and find patients who will only see me and not happy seeing other doctors in the practice.”
However, there was also suspicion that once patients were enrolled. The “feds will take over the purse strings completely and we will do nothing but tick boxes to achieve an ever changing set of goals that we will have little control over.”
Choose UP TO THREE of the following, if you consider they are most needed for GPs to deal with the impending rise in diabetes incidence?
Do you think encouraging more patient self-management of Type 2 diabetes will produce better outcomes, dollar for dollar, than most other measures?
As a general rule, do you believe internship placements for junior doctors should give priority to graduates who are … [up to THREE choices possible]
Doctors Comment
Those who commented on this question were largely in favour of priority to WA trained doctors for local internships, regardless of being an Australian or overseas doctor. “If they’ve trained in WA, they have a better understanding of the health issues specific to this state.”
However, overseas students did come in for some treatment … “it should be made clear that they will not be considered in the first draft for intern positions”.
How often do you think busy doctors are likely to treat or manage a health problem in a way that is outside recommended guidelines?
Doctors Comment
Guidelines, for those who commented, needed to be flexible – with no one patient (or doctor for that matter) being alike. As one doctor said, “a doctor has to devise a treatment suitable to those individual patients, unlike researchers we can’t just say they didn’t make it to the end of the study.”
Last word: “My opinion is that clinical guidelines are drawn up by groups of people who have no experience of what it means to practically carry out those guidelines.”