Australia’s rural healthcare faces ongoing challenges due to distance, systemic bias, and limited resources. Seven million people live in remote areas, experiencing higher mortality rates and less fun...
The article discusses challenges faced by GPs in Australia amid recent government policies. It highlights how private psychiatric services are avoiding complex patients, leaving GPs to manage risky ca...
A new analysis from Ochre Health shows female GPs in Australia earn about 6.5% less per hour than male GPs. The study looked at data from 511 GPs across five states during 2024. It found male GPs bill...
The Australian federal government has provided Cohealth with $1.5 million in funding to keep its GP services in Melbourne open until July 2026. Cohealth had announced plans to close some clinics due t...
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports that access to GPs is improving. More Australians saw a GP last year, with 83.4% of people visiting a GP, up from 82.6%. Fewer people delayed seeing a GP, d...
Australia and Canada are facing similar issues with scope creep in primary care. In Australia, GPs are concerned about community pharmacists gaining prescribing rights. Canada is seeing nurse practiti...
The government’s latest Medicare data shows GP bulk billing rates in Australia have remained relatively stable over the past year. The September 2025 quarter saw a bulk billing rate of 77.6%, slightly...
The NSW government has introduced a new Rural Health Action Plan aimed at improving healthcare in rural areas. The plan was proposed by Dr Joe McGirr, focusing on supporting the rural health workforce...
Tasmania’s government has issued an expression of interest to establish five new bulk billing GP clinics. Both major parties had committed to this before the July election, with Labour proposing fundi...
The Australian government released a report on public hospital costs and funding. It highlights the ongoing cycle of hospital reforms and the need for change. The report recommends including hospital...
At the RACGP GP25 conference in Brisbane, key health leaders discussed the future of general practice in Australia. RACGP President Dr Michael Wright highlighted recent reforms in funding and Medicare...
Private health insurers like Bupa and Medibank have been quietly buying general practices in Australia. They are not allowed to fund most primary care services covered by Medicare but can fund service...
The RACGP held its Brisbane conference with over 1300 delegates. The President, Dr Michael Wright, questioned the Federal Health Minister, Mark Butler, about bulk-billing policies. The Minister explai...
The Australian government introduced new bulk-billing incentives for GPs in 2025. The expanded triple bulk-billing incentive and the bulk-billing practice incentive payment went live in November. The...
A patient in Queensland has been on a public hospital waiting list for a knee replacement for over 570 days. The official average wait time is around 440 days, but some patients wait much longer. The...
A public health analyst in New Zealand reflects on 15 years of trying to improve healthcare digital tools like patient portals. Despite efforts, progress has been slow due to systemic inertia. The mai...
The University of Sydney and University of Wollongong launched the OCEAN study, a follow-up to the BEACH study. It focuses on understanding the role and value of non-GP health workers in general pract...
The RACGP opposes expanding Medicare rebates for midwives to insert and remove long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs). The government’s draft report suggests that endorsed midwives, with extens...
The Australian government is shifting towards a form of managed care that risks devaluing general practitioners (GPs). New tax rules, like payroll tax, are encouraging the Tenant Doctor model, which a...
The Australian general practice sector faces ongoing challenges driven by policy failures. GPs are caught in a system with broken incentives, poor payment models, and market failures like information...
