More localities around Australia have been identified as areas where GP service levels have decreased – with the majority in WA.
This week the Federal Government released changes to the Distribution Priority Area (DPA) classifications of 17 localities, with nine of those becoming a higher priority being in Western Australia.
Two WA locations also had their level of remoteness increased under the Modified Monash Model, which is a consideration for DPA classification.
But health leaders have warned the move was only part of the solution to fixing general practice constraints.
The DPA system identifies areas with lower levels of GP services compared with a benchmark level. Different Distribution Priority Area classifications open eligibility to certain initiatives that aim to increase the supply of GPs, while a higher MMM classification allows for larger bulk billing incentives.
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Joondalup has gone from being a non-DPA to a partial DPA, and the three localities of Cockburn, Gosnells and Mundaring-Swan View have gone from being non-DPA to full DPA.
Armadale, Byford, Kalamunda and Swan have all moved from being classified as partial DPA to full DPA.
Alongside this, a total of 17 localities nationwide have had their MMM classifications changed.
Green Head and Leeman in WA, both of which had previously been considered small town rural, or MM5, are now considered remote, or MM6.
Such classifications determine what level of federally funded programs and incentives can be accessed to encourage doctors to move to, and remain working, in certain areas.
AMA (WA) President Dr Michael Page said lifting incentives for rural and outer metropolitan general practice was important to address some of the “distribution-related inequalities in access to primary care in WA”.
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However, he said changing the classification of areas was only part of the solution and other factors affecting GP clinics needed to be considered.
“Many of these practices are smaller with significant running costs to contend with despite lacking scale, and depend on private billing,” he said.
RACGP Rural Chair Dr Michael Clements said lessons must be learned from the last round of DPA changes, which the College said “drained doctors from rural and remote communities to more desirable locations.”
“These classifications are important tools to show where there is workforce need, and to help grow the workforce through recruitment programs for overseas trained medical graduates,” he said.
“They need to be targeted to ensure the communities where the need is greatest get the support required.
“While this latest announcement is good news for some, it will not help communities where the need is greatest. If everywhere is a priority, the system doesn’t work.”
Both the AMA and RACGP have called for changes to Medicare to better support general practice. Ahead of the Federal election both have called for uplifts to Medicare rebates to support complex care and longer appointments, as well as providing financial relief to GPs.
Dr Page said improved Medicare funding of longer consultations was required to meet increasing complexity of care needs.
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Dr Page also called for WA to trial the single-employer model for general practice registrars as a method of increasing availability of primary care doctors across the state.
“This is aimed at addressing the significant pay-cuts junior doctors face when they leave the hospital system to train in general practice.”
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler’s office said the government was continuing to work through its response to the independent review of classifications and that these updates to the MMM and DPA classifications were in line with the latest Census and workforce data from the Department of Health and Aged Care.
Consideration of DPA status also takes in data on the level of Medicare billed GP services patients received in the past year and demographics of a community.
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