The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is again calling on the Rudd Government to support practices to increase the utilisation of general practice nurses and help GPs to expand access to care.

As part of General Practice Week, the AMA wants the Government to expand the 'for and on behalf of' Medicare rebate for GPs with practice nurses. This would enable GPs to work more efficiently with their practice nurses, and therefore, be able to see more patients and provide more service to patients.

There are now more than 7,700 practice nurses as part of general practice throughout the country. General practice is already using nurses to assist in patient care and management under medical supervision. More support for general practice nurses is needed.

AMA President, Dr Rosanna Capolingua, said nurses employed in general practice were able to take some pressure off GPs, allowing for more consultations and the provision of improved team-based care arrangements.

"GPs have been leading the way to better health through the coordination of patient care but this could be even better if the Rudd Government put support in right place," she said.

The AMA also wanted the Rudd Government to extend the Practice Nurse Incentive Payment to all GP practices to employ practice nurses, rather than just in rural and remote areas.

Practice nurses already assist GPs with services such as immunisations, wound management, chronic disease monitoring, and the promotion and delivery of health education.

"By employing the skills of practice nurses, GPs can improve access for their practice and offer a wider range of services to patients."

Dr Capolingua said general practice nurses, working for, and on behalf of, doctors, freed up a GP's time to treat acute conditions, concentrate on more complex medical problems, coordinate care arrangements for patients with chronic illness and practise preventative medicine.

The most recent report from the Bettering of Evaluation and Care of Health program (BEACH) confirmed that there has been a significant increase in general practice nurse activities being provided in conjunction with the GP consultation - up from 4.2 to 5.7 per 100 encounters between 2005/06 and 2006/07.

"GPs are already working effectively with practice nurses but more can be done," she said.

Australian Medical Association
www.ama.au