Increasingly complex presentations pile pressure on GPs

Description

Professor Mark Morgan, Chair of RACGP Expert Committee – Quality Care, noted that the poll did not provide enough detail to determine what constituted a ‘complex presentation’, but said the results support the push for general practice reform.
 
‘My involvement in the review of the Red Book and many other clinical practice guidelines has made it very clear to me that the practice of medicine only gets more complicated,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘That is why we desperately need patient rebates to increase, particularly for longer consultations.’
 
He also suggests that the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – now into its third year – and increasing frequency of mental health consultations may be contributing factors.
 
‘There is evidence that COVID interrupted some prevention and monitoring of chronic disease,’ he said.
 
‘In my practice, many consults to manage acute presentations end up being an opportunity to catch up on the management of risk and existing conditions.
 
‘The Health of the Nation report also showed the increasing impact of mental health, which is always complex.’

Subject

Primary care