Productive Healthcare

No doubt the Productivity Commission's report into Australia's healthcare will trigger the usual objections by the doctors' union. This is natural, as any union must put its members' interests first. However, I know enough doctors to believe that the vast majority are motivated by a deep-rooted sense of compassion and care. And they are not so naive as to ignore the costs of red tap, bureaucracy, pointless demarcation disputes and bully-boy tactics - often targeting junior doctors in the public hospitals - which they frequently encounter.

I believe Australia's medical fraternity will recognise the AMA's Choong-Siew Yong's remarks (referring to other health professionals as "doctor substitutes") for what they are. I call on doctors to see past their short-term interests and the institutional legacies of their profession; to embrace the contribution other healthcare workers can make; to honestly examine the report's recommendations and work to put the health outcomes of Australians first.