Nurse practitioners the cure for spiralling healthcare costs, says peak body

The cost of access to basic health care is a pressing problem for many Australians, with an increasing number of general practitioners limiting access to bulk billing or scrapping it altogether.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian Medical Association (AMA) say extended freezes to the Medicare rebate, and a below-inflation 1.6% increase for most GP services from 1 July means it is unfeasible for GPs to continue to bulk bill.

Doctors want the federal government to significantly increase the rebate, and to do more to attract medical graduates to general practice.

But the president of the Australian College of Nursing Practitioners (ACNP), Leanne Bose, said not enough is being done by government to increase the role of nurses in providing affordable primary healthcare.

In New Zealand nurse practitioners, like general practitioners, can assess and treat patients, and provide prescriptions. In the US, patients are encouraged to see nurse practitioners for many common illnesses and long-term conditions, and can often get appointments more quickly and affordably than with a GP.

A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse with additional training to diagnose and treat people with acute or chronic health conditions.

Nurse practitioners also require authorisation from a doctor to issue subsidised prescriptions.

The strengthening Medicare taskforce announced by the federal government to examine ways to make healthcare more accessible and affordable, does not have any nurse practitioners on its expert panel.

He questioned comments from the AMA and RACGP that it is unaffordable for GPs to bulk-bill.

But she said those nurses must be provided with appropriate access to Medicare Benefits Schedule provider numbers and other forms of funding. She agreed with concerns that affordable healthcare reviews did not include nurse practitioners.