ACRRM advocates on behalf of members in a range of forums, collaborations, and partnerships. The College regularly engages with policy development, review and reform agendas at national level.

In particular, the College deals with the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, which is the lead agency for primary care matters in Australia and for Medicare Australia.

ACRRM provides written submissions, organisational delegations, consultations, and private briefings to a range of national reform agendas. In 2008 and 2009 these included National Health and Hospital Reform Commission, National Maternity Services Review, Preventative Health Care Strategy, Rural Health Program Review, and National Registration and Accreditation.

The College maintains close working relationships with state health agencies to promote mobility of general practice services and support a range of training opportunities and programs. An example is the relationship the College forged with Queensland Health to develop and implement the Rural Generalist Medicine and Generalist Emergency Medicine programs. The Northern Territory Health Department is expected to adopt these generalist programs.

The Western Australian Health Department has a modified version of the program which it began implementing in 2008. There have also been a range of Ministerial and other senior level delegations from the Victorian, New South Wales and South Australian health departments to evaluate the programs.

The College is actively engaged with a range of government and non-government stakeholders at regional and local levels. Fellows of ACRRM actively participate on clinical privileging committees and within local Divisions of General Practice to contribute to local networks of education, training, and professional support for the specialty of general practice.

Issues

UGPA submission to Senate Standing Committee on GP mental health services
(5 August 2011)

United General Practice Australia (UGPA), of which ACRRM is a member, has significant concerns regarding the proposed cuts to the Better Access program. These changes will have a major impact on patient access, quality of service, and the overall mental health workforce. The cuts will also erode the major investments made in building and strengthening the primary mental healthcare system over the last ten years .

Specifically, UGPA makes comment on:

1. Changes to the Better Access program
2. Access to mental health services
3. Mental health workforce
4. Mental health compared to physical health.

Read the UGPA's two-page commentary on these four critical point.

Queensland GP Alliance: submission to Senate Standing Committee on GP mental health services

Addressing the cuts to the Better Access program, the Qld GP Alliance subbmision to the Committee pointed out that the cuts will:

• directly affect the affordability of care and patients’ willingness and capacity to seek services
• have a deleterious impact in rural and remote communities and make it harder to develop appropriate packages of coordinated mental health care for people in need in these communities
• have a negative impact in Queensland communities that are recovering from recent natural disasters – there needs to be a spread and variety of mental health services across primary health care services to assist with timely and effective recovery – Better Access is an important component of this spread and variety
• have an undermining effect on GPs continuing involvement in mental health care – the reduced fee will affect GPs’ willingness and predisposition to increase their activity and deepen their skills and knowledge in mental health service delivery.

Read the QGPA submission to the Committee.

Campaign intensifies: GP mental health services

United General Practice Australia (UGPA), Australia's peak general practitioner coalition, put forward to Mental Health Minister Mark Butler and senior advisers from Health Minister Nicola Roxon's office, the case that from November 2011 many people with mental illness would no longer be able to afford to see their GP for mental health plans because the Medicare rebates will be between 25 per cent and 50 per cent lower than today. UGPA pointed out that the Government’s changes mean that Medicare would treat people with mental illness less favourably than people with a physical ailment, with rebates for GP Mental Health Plans dropping to between 10 per cent and 50 per cent lower than GP Management Plans for chronic illness. UGPA remains determined to stay engaged with the Government to have the rebates restored.  Read the full media release...

Australian Consensus Statement on the Health Benefits of Work

ACRRM is a signatory to the Australian Concensus Statement on the Health Benefits of Work. At the heart of this consensus statement is a desire to improve the welfare of individuals, families and communities.

As a signatory, the College agrees to:

• promote awareness of the health benefits of work
• offer support and encouragement to those attempting to access the health benefits of work
• encourage employers’ continuing support of workers’ occupational health, and
• advocate for continuous improvement in public policy around work and health, in line with the principles articulated above.

Read the statement and background ...

General registration for medical practitioners with AMC certificate in the standard pathway

ACRRM has responded to the Medical Board of Australia's proposals for granting general registration to medical practitioners in the standard pathway who hold an AMC certificate, and on guidelines for supervised practice for limited registration.  ACRRM supports the proposed standards but believes the guidelines would be strengthened with some changes.  Read ACRRM's response...

Lack of consultation: patients with diabetes

GP groups disappointed with lack of consultation over policy for patients with diabetes. Read the joint media release...