This month the College provided advice to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care (DOHA) regarding its consultation to consider options for streamlining or expanding the Rural Procedural Grants Program (RPGP).
ACRRM has strongly supported the proposal to expand the program. It has highlighted the 20 years of success of the RPGP for which it is proud to have been instrumental in establishing and delivering. The program has provided a funding lifeline to around 3000 rural doctors annually to support them to continue to provide critical procedural services in their communities at a minimum administrative cost.
ACRRM has highlighted the need to ensure that any expansion does not come at the expense of adequately funding the procedural disciplines which are currently included in the program. The College is pleased to support an expansion to support provision of Rural Generalist advanced skills in additional areas of service particularly in high needs areas such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ healthcare and mental healthcare. It notes however that careful consideration will need to be given to program design to ensure that funding is channeled to where it is most needed with a minimum of administrative compliance and complexity.
The College has noted that going forward as support programs for provision of Rural Generalist services expand, the involvement of the College will be especially important to arbitrate and uphold professional standards, and to minimize administration and complexity by working with ACRRM Fellows’ established networks and CPD arrangements.
The consultation follows from the commissioned review of the RPGP and the PIP Procedural GP Payments Program.
ACRRM has strongly supported the proposal to expand the program. It has highlighted the 20 years of success of the RPGP for which it is proud to have been instrumental in establishing and delivering. The program has provided a funding lifeline to around 3000 rural doctors annually to support them to continue to provide critical procedural services in their communities at a minimum administrative cost.
ACRRM has highlighted the need to ensure that any expansion does not come at the expense of adequately funding the procedural disciplines which are currently included in the program. The College is pleased to support an expansion to support provision of Rural Generalist advanced skills in additional areas of service particularly in high needs areas such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ healthcare and mental healthcare. It notes however that careful consideration will need to be given to program design to ensure that funding is channeled to where it is most needed with a minimum of administrative compliance and complexity.
The College has noted that going forward as support programs for provision of Rural Generalist services expand, the involvement of the College will be especially important to arbitrate and uphold professional standards, and to minimize administration and complexity by working with ACRRM Fellows’ established networks and CPD arrangements.
The consultation follows from the commissioned review of the RPGP and the PIP Procedural GP Payments Program.