Doctor dilemmas: how GP medicine is practised in Australia

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) and the Coalition Government are in dispute over General Practitioner (GP) fees. The AMA has a case that these should be increased. However, this article shows that there is still a serious maldistribution of GPs in Australia which favours metropolitan areas. This is contributing to the practice of ‘high throughput’ medicine in these areas. It is argued that any increase in GP service fees should be accompanied by measures to ensure GPs serve where they are needed. Copyright. Monash University and the author/s