ALLEGATIONS about GPs practising so-called "turnstile medicine" by NSW Pharmacy Guild Branch President, David Heffernan, have attracted a robust response from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
RACGP President Dr Harry Nespolon was reacting to comments by Heffernan in an update to members last week, in which he claimed some GPs were focusing on easy, five-minute "low morbidity" clients in order to maximise Medicare payments.
However Nespolon's rebuttal pithily said "the closest thing I see to a turnstile in healthcare is at the cash registers of the pharmacy".
He described Heffernan's comments as "extraordinary and baseless," referring the NSW Guild President to the RACGP's recent 2019/20 Budget submission where the College advocated for appropriate rebates so patients can see doctors for longer visits.
"The evidence is clear; the more time a GP spends with a patient, the better the outcome.
"I have never seen research showing a similar conclusion for patients who see pharmacists for their minor ailments," he noted.
Nespolon also highlighted the preliminary outcome of the Pharmacy Diabetes Screening Trial (PD 09 Nov 2018) which found that it cost between $788 and $6,000 to diagnose a new diabetes patient - the equivalent of 21 to 163 "level B" GP consultations.
The RACGP President said Heffernan's "rant" demonstrated a lack of discipline by the normally proficient Guild lobbying machine.
"There are times when my patient has a straightforward diagnosis.
"But I see my patient in a holistic light; not just their presenting symptoms but the rest of their health, in their context," he said.
"My principal driver is to keep my patient healthy. I want to decrease the number of medications my patients are on, and ensure that when they are on a new medication it is necessary and evidence-based".
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