The College advocates on behalf of members in a range of forums, collaborations, and partnerships. The College regularly engages with policy development, review and reform agendas at national level, and provides written submissions, organisational delegations, consultations, and private briefings to a range of national reform agendas.

Over the past month, ACRRM representations have included submissions on the Accreditation Terms Glossary, Pricing Framework for Australian Public Hospitals, and the National Health and Climate Strategy. In addition, the College has developed a Policy Position on the Role of Pharmacists in Healthcare Teams. 

Accreditation Terms Glossary

The College welcomed the opportunity to provide feedback on Ahpra and the Medical Boards proposed initial glossary of terms across the spectrum of accreditation, recognising the value in using a common language to discuss the work and quality processes across healthcare professions. ACRRM’s submission noted that the College is generally comfortable with the glossary, but would recommend a number of amendments in the terminology around students, trainees, registrars and clinical supervisors.

ACRRM would also see value in providing some further clarification on the differences between and across training sites and training campuses.  Under ACRRM Fellowship standards training sites may take many diverse forms often applying different combinations of in situ and remote supervision models.  Education and learning that occurs at the training site typically involves a mixture of direct instruction from supervisors, apprenticeship-styled learning, self-directed online learning, and structured online learning through the College’s national education program. This flexible approach is necessary to enable quality-controlled training in the diverse circumstances of rural, remote, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare delivery and it is important that the glossary definition can encompass this diversity.

National Pricing Framework for Public Hospitals

Rural hospitals continue to face significant challenges to service provision, including higher running costs, increased reliance on costly locum services, and the continuing impact of natural disasters, including fires, flooding, and drought. 

ACRRM’s Submission to the Independent Hospital and Aged Care Pricing Authority outlines the importance of delivering equitable access to care for people living in rural, remote, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Funding arrangements must address the complex challenges faced by non-urban communities, and tailored rural solutions are required.   

National Health and Climate Strategy

The College has provided feedback on the development of the draft National Health and Climate Strategy. This Strategy presents an opportunity to design and implement the required changes in structure, process, and practice across the health sector to achieve sustainable development goals.  The College submission notes that changes in mindset and the re-design of health services to address their environmental impacts will be required if the Strategy is to achieve it’s full potential.

Our rural and remote communities already experience many disadvantages compared to their urban counterparts, and the risks posed by climate change to health threaten to exacerbate many of the health inequities experienced by those living and working in regional and rural areas. With many rural and remote areas reliant on primary agriculture production and vulnerable to drought, bushfires, cyclones, floods and heatwaves, these areas stand to be disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change, particularly as water security is inherently threatened by changes in climate.

It is therefore of paramount importance that the Strategy applies a “rural-proofing lens” to climate policy to protect the health of populations living in rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia. Rural Generalists are uniquely placed to lead the response to the burden of disease resulting from climate change, including mental illness, and to provide high quality care and keep people healthy and out of hospital. They are also able to support ongoing education for themselves, other health professionals, communities and patients regarding climate change and its impact on individual and population health. Within the public health setting, they can strengthen preparedness for disaster and promote resilience and community capacity building.

As a trainer of the next generation of rural doctors, ACRRM is committed to developing policy and progressing toward reducing its own organisational carbon footprint, as well as educating and supporting its members on practical ways they can make a positive individual contribution as well as leading and supporting their communities to do so.

College Position Statement  - Role of Pharmacists in Healthcare Teams

With proposals around Australia to extend pharmacist scope of practice, College Council has approved the publication of a policy position on the role of pharmacists in healthcare teams, stating that key principles of patient safety and continuity of care, appropriate training and credentialing, and transparency in the development of service models and their evaluation, must be applied when considering any extension to scope.

ACRRM contends that any proposal to extend the services provided by pharmacists to include a medical scope of practice contains significant inherent risks. To mitigate these, proposals must be developed in association with robust, transparent and extensive consultation involving all stakeholders including medical practitioners. 

Likewise robust and transparent governance mechanisms and monitoring and evaluation frameworks must be in place. In the view of the College, addressing medical workforce and practice funding issues to increase the number of RGs and GPs, especially in rural and remote areas, is the most effective response to the current access issues. ACRRM would welcome the opportunity to progress initiatives in which pharmacists can work in effective partnerships with their Rural Generalist and specialist General Practitioner colleagues together with other members of the primary health care team, to improve access to quality care for people in remote and rural areas.

You can read the full Position Statement here. The Policy team values all members’ input on policy issues as they arise. Member input allows us to provide submissions and representations which are more powerful and more reflective of the realities of rural and remote practice on the frontline. Policy@acrrm.org.au if you would like to provide feedback on a particular issue or consultation.