Australian Medical Association

The Australian Medical Association today welcomed the latest ACCC report to the Senate on the workings of competition policy in private health insurance. The report states that the ACCC has seen no evidence to indicate that doctors have colluded in their refusal to sign contracts and acknowledged that the AMA-backed no-contract gap cover scheme legislation was "a useful alternative" to contract based insurance schemes. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said that the AMA had

The AMA has acknowledged the Government's attempt to boost rural doctor numbers through its new rural medical bonded scholarships scheme but has raised concerns about the scheme's tough provisions regarding breach of contract. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said legislation passed in the Senate this week enforced draconian penalty arrangements for doctors who may breach their contractual obligations to serve in rural areas. "The scheme was a key plank in the AMA's bluep

Today's news that a record 58,317 people were waiting for surgery in NSW hospitals is yet another sign that Australia's public hospital system was in desperate need of help, the Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today. Dr Phelps said: "It's not just NSW public hospitals are under severe strain right around the nation. In the past seven days alone, we've seen: In Perth, elective surgery cancelled in major hospitals and ambulances turne

The AMA has today sent an urgent request to the state and territory leaders forum to place public hospital funding firmly on the agenda for tomorrow's meeting of the Council of Australian Governments. The leaders' forum, consisting of state and territory premiers and chief ministers, will meet in Canberra this afternoon prior to tomorrow's COAG meeting. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said that the only health item on the COAG agenda appeared to be food standards. "If

The AMA has called for urgent reform of the laws governing medical negligence to stop doctors "downing tools" because of soaring indemnity costs. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, met today with Commonwealth Attorney-General, Daryl Williams, and Law Council of Australia President, Anne Trimmer, to raise concerns about the medical indemnity crisis. "Many of the problems with medical negligence law lie at state level. However it is a national issue and we are calling on the At

The Australian Medical Association said today that the Federal Government's move to increase rebates for patients of rural-based Other Medical Practitioners (OMPs) was "long-awaited justice". OMPs have been effectively discriminated against for years through low Medicare rebates. OMPs include many rural practitioners who are fully trained doctors who have not had the opportunity to acquire advanced qualifications. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said the Association had

The AMA will rate private health funds' products to help the public make informed decisions about private cover and keep the funds honest. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said there was a lot of confusion about gaps between medical costs and patient rebates, as well as misinformation about waiting periods for private cover. "It is our intention to rate the funds' products and make these ratings widely available," Dr Phelps said. "If they provide an inadequate product, t

The falling public approval rating for Medicare is a direct result of the Government's failure to support the real cost of healthcare, according to the AMA. A Health Insurance Commission survey on Medicare shows a drop in the public's satisfaction with the scheme for the third successive year, a fall of six per cent over three years. The survey showed public satisfaction with Medicare had dropped from 89 percent in 1997-1998 to 83 percent this year. AMA Federal President, Dr K

The AMA has warned that people who regularly smoke marijuana are at greater risk of triggering a psychosis such as schizophrenia. A new AMA harm minimisation brochure Cannabis and Your Health warns that cannabis can trigger further bouts of illness or destabilise the treatment of illness. AMA Public Health spokesman, Dr Bill Pring, said there was strong and increasing evidence to show that use of cannabis by people who had experienced a nervous breakdown was unwise and should be

The AMA says many patients are paying 'bigger gaps' for doctor visits because of a government freeze on Medicare rebates for Other Medical Practitioners (OMPS). This particularly disadvantages rural communities. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said more than half of the 2000 (Dec 1998) OMPs practising as primary care practitioners were living and working in rural areas, some as the sole doctor for the community. "These practitioners have a full medical degree and access to

The AMA said today's DPP decision not to take legal action against radiologists over the so-called "scan scam" was welcome but not unexpected news for the profession. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said radiologists had been "found guilty before even being charged" of acting on allegedly leaked information about a 1998 budget freeze on rebates for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines. "This is no doubt a tremendous relief for those specialists who's reputations h

The Australian Medical Association has written to Federal Attorney-General Daryl Williams demanding a ban on DNA paternity testing over the Internet until strict regulations are put in place, according to an article in the latest edition of Australian Medicine. A Melbourne-based company, DNA Solutions is offering paternity tests to customers who send in hair samples for DNA testing. AMA Vice President Dr Trevor Mudge said it was extraordinary that such tests were allowed to take

The Australian Medical Association has warned that Medicare cards will become the 21st century version of the notorious Australia Card. A Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care meeting in Canberra today confirmed that individual Medicare numbers were intended to be used as the Unique Patient Identifiers (UPIs) for the Federal Government's proposed electronic records system, the Better Medication Management System (BMMS), to be introduced in July next year. "This should b

The AMA today said a national review's recommendation to continue banning the advertising of prescription medicines was a victory for commonsense. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said the AMA had lobbied strongly against the introduction of direct-to-patient advertising on the basis that it would increase the demand for and cost of drugs and encourage "doctor shopping" by patients. "We wholeheartedly support the recommendation of The National Competition Policy Review of

AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps has launched a campaign for a national co-ordinating body to "untangle the wires" on Aboriginal health and welfare funding. Touring outback communities in the Northern Territory, Dr Phelps said the health status of Australia's indigenous people remained the worst in the developed world. She said committees, government departments and community groups, both metropolitan and regional, were all working in isolation. "Doctors and health worker

The President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Kerryn Phelps, today welcomed the first major health insurance scheme under the AMA sponsored no contract gap legislation. "This new scheme from Medibank Private represents a major step forward in the AMA's campaign to ensure that doctors do not have to enter into managed care type contracts in order to provide services to patients under the no gap or known gap basis covered by private health insurance," Dr Phelps said. "The

Health On-Line Summit - Adelaide by Dr Kerryn Phelps August 3, 2000 Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen - it is a pleasure to be with you today to participate in debate on vital issues surrounding e-health. In my presentation I will focus on the overwhelming significance of protection of privacy as a precondition for e-health to meet the promises it currently holds out to all those involved in health issues whether it be general practitioners, researchers, managers or policy m

National Press Club - Telstra Address by Dr Kerryn Phelps July 5, 2000 Members of the National Press Club Guests Friends and colleagues. I am here today to talk to you about the health system, which I believe is poised on a knife's edge. Health has the attention of the entire Australian population. The press devotes more headlines and more front pages to health than any other single area. Health matters to the people. And so it matters to politics. I was elected as t

The Australian Medical Association has today called for an inquiry into the rural bonded scholarship scheme legislation, saying draconian provisions and penalties would render it useless. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said that the Association had lobbied long and hard for a voluntary rural bonded scholarship scheme to help increase the numbers of doctors in the bush. "We were pleased when the Commonwealth picked it up. The scheme provides for a scholarship for medical

The Australian Medical Association and the Commonwealth Bank have announced joint sponsorship of a Youth Health Advocate to identify youth health issues and promote healthy living among young Australians. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, welcomed the Commonwealth Bank's support for the initiative at a media conference at AMA House in Canberra, also attended by the Commonwealth Bank's Head of Group Corporate Relations, Jill Lester. "This new role will provide young people

A Roy Morgan Research survey of 1,000 Australians commissioned by the AMA revealed that 66% would not consider their health records safe if they were maintained and safeguarded by the Federal Government. Australia's health ministers have announced that they want to set up an e-health records system called Healthconnect, with information to be stored on regional databases. "We are told that this system will be as safe as houses. But most Australians don't believe it," AMA Federal

Joint Statement by The Council on the Ageing The Australian Medical Association The Royal Australasian College of Physicians The Pharmacy Guild of Australia The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia Organisations representing Australia's health professionals and a key consumer advocate strongly oppose the introduction of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medications in Australia. Such advertising is legal only in the United States and New Zealand. In those countrie

The latest push by the National Competition Council (reported in today's Sun Herald) for 'looser entry rules' for doctors would erode standards and quality in medical care, the Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today. The National Competition Council is also reported as wanting to open the floodgates on advertising by doctors and other professions, leading to the prospect of advertising-driven demand for medical services. "Australians

The Australian Medical Association today called for an urgent, temporary rule change to allow new health fund members to use their private cover straight away. Reports today indicate that some new fund members, unaware of the 12 month waiting rule, have been left with big bills after entering private hospitals in the past few weeks in the belief that they were covered. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said that the 12-month rule was in place to stop what the health insura

Public hospitals will be the long-term beneficiaries from the huge surge in private health insurance cover revealed in figures released today, the Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today. The figures show that, at the end of June, 41.2% of Australians (7.9 million) have private health cover, up from 30.5% (5.8 million) in 1999. "The AMA has fought long and hard for appropriate measures to get private health insurance back on track," Dr

The Australian Medical Association is fighting an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) draft determination that would allow insurers to coerce insurance applicants into having genetic tests, according to an article in the latest edition of Australian Medicine. "The prospect of anybody- government, employer or insurers coercing people into genetic tests is concerning because these tests have uncertain implications," AMA Vice President, Dr Trevor Mudge said. "I d

The Australian Medical Association has welcomed new funding for the ALP's 'Medicare After Hours' proposal, launched by opposition leader Kim Beazley at the party's National Conference today. However, AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps warned that the program, designed to reduce emergency department waiting times, must not become another opportunity for the states and the Commonwealth to cost-shift. "For too long we have watched emergency department waiting times explode, whi

The Australian Medical Association has commended the ALP for its commitment to re-establishing the Commonwealth Dental Health Program for the benefit of low-income Australians and pensioners who are suffering immeasurably since the scheme was scrapped four years ago and called on the Howard Government to match the commitment. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said the publicly funded system ensured that pensioners and low-income earners received the dental care they needed

Labor's pledge to address cost-shifting issues in health care was a long overdue and welcome move, the Federal President of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said today. "I welcome the commitment to hold a national summit which brings together state and federal governments with doctors, nurses and other health workers as well as the wider community," Dr Phelps said. "The AMA has been calling for such a move for some time." "Cost shifting and blame shifting hav

The Australian Medical Association today warned that the development of regional health databases to facilitate the electronic exchange of medical records was unnecessary and could compromise patient privacy. The warning comes as Australian health ministers release plans for "HealthConnect", an electronic system for sharing personal health information proposed by the National Electronic Health Records Taskforce. AMA Federal President, Dr Kerryn Phelps, said that electronic health r