You're not wrong - you are waiting longer to see the doctor
New findings confirm what we thought: a quick visit to the GP can no longer be taken for granted
More of us are waiting longer to see a General Practitioner (GP) for urgent medical care. It is even worse for those living in the regions.
These are some of the findings of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) analysis of its Patient Experience Survey 2021-22:
- 39.1 per cent of all people who saw a GP for urgent care waited for 24 hours or more - an increase from 33.9 per cent in 2020-21.
- People living in outer regional, remote, or very remote areas (49.5 per cent) were more likely to wait for 24 hours or more than those living in major cities (35.5 per cent).
- There was also an increase in people who waited longer than they felt was acceptable to get an appointment with a GP (23.4 per cent compared to 16.6 per cent in 2020-21) or a medical specialist (26.7 per cent compared to 21.7 per cent in 2020-21).
- The survey found that 32.8 per cent of people could not see their preferred GP on at least one occasion, compared to 25.5 per cent in 2020-21.
- More than four in five (82.7 per cent) people said GPs always showed respect.
- The number of people who needed to see a health professional for their mental health increased to 18.5 per cent in 2021-22 (up from 17.3% in 2020-21). Of these people, 38.9 per cent delayed or did not see a mental health professional at least once when needed.
People have continued to take advantage of expanded telehealth services in 2021-22, particularly those offered by GPs.
Almost one-third (30.8 per cent) of people had a telehealth consultation in the last 12 months - an increase from 28.8 per cent in 2020-21. More than a quarter (25.8 per cent) of all people had a telehealth consultation with a GP.
More than four in five (81.6 per cent) people said telehealth practitioners always listened carefully.
Clear trends identified who was taking advantage of the telehealth services:
- Those with a long-term health condition used telehealth more than those without a long-term health condition (41.9 per cent compared to 18.3 per cent)
- More females than males (36.5 per cent compared to 24.8 per cent)
- Those aged 75-84 years used the services more than those aged 15-24 years (35.3 per cent compared to 22.5 per cent)
- People living in areas of least socio-economic disadvantage used telehealth more than those living in areas of most disadvantage (32.3 per cent compared to 27.8 per cent)
- More people major cities used telehealth than those living in outer regional, remote or very remote areas (32.2 per cent compared to 22.5 per cent).
Doctors continue to claim the state of general practice is dire, and many GP clinics are hitting the wall.
A key concern is what they say is inadequate indexation from the government, which does not match the increasing costs of running GP clinics.
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) says this is putting practices under pressure, as they are forced to either absorb the cost increases or pass them on to their patients.
According to the AMA, from July this year, Medicare items were indexed by 1.6 per cent despite practice costs like wages, rent and utilities climbing at a much higher rate.
The AMA’s analysis of the level B consultation item (the item used for consultations lasting less than 20 minutes) found that inadequate indexation has saved the government around $8.6 billion over the lifetime of the item.
“The Medicare rebate is the patient rebate, not the doctor’s rebate, and therefore reflects what the government is willing to pay for Australia’s healthcare,” AMA President Professor Steve Robson said in a statement.
He continued: "Our analysis shows that successive governments have been stripping healthcare funding from Australian taxpayers through poor indexation and shifting the cost of care onto everyday Australians. Medical practitioners must either absorb the cost and risk becoming unviable or increase out-of-pocket costs for patients. This is not a sustainable solution.”
