Doctors' orders: funding plea for longer GP visits

Australia's healthcare system has been compared to a house with cracks in it by a peak representative body that says an ageing population is changing the role of general practitioners.

The Australian Medical Association is calling for longer and better quality access to GPs, among a string of other reforms in a pre-budget submission launched on Wednesday.

AMA president Danielle McMullen will address the Australian Press Club in Canberra, saying pressures facing the healthcare system are cumulative and creating stress across the sector.

"If our health system was a house, the cracks are now impossible to ignore and they must be remedied," Dr McMullen said ahead of the address.

Dr McMullen described general practice as the foundation of the system but said too much was being asked under a funding model that no longer reflects the reality of patient care.

"Patients are older and have more complex chronic conditions," she said.

"Their care takes more time and more co-ordination, but Medicare still largely rewards short, simple consultations."

While the AMA welcomed efforts so far to improve access to GPs and increase workforce numbers, Dr McMullen warned "quick win reforms" had opened more doors but were fragmenting care and creating safety concerns.

"The opening of these doors only helps patients if those doors are connected back to their usual GP and their health information follows them," she said.

Better access to general practice, including after-hours services, has also long been touted as a way to relieve pressure on Australia's heavily burdened hospitals.

"Public hospitals continue to face severe pressure, with emergency departments overcrowded, surgery waitlists too long, and health workers experiencing burnout and unacceptable levels of abuse," Dr McMullen said.

Regarding private hospitals, Dr McMullen said patients were paying higher premiums for private healthcare coverage but receiving less back from insurers when claiming for their care.

The AMA recommended reforming private health to improve value and transparency under the oversight of an independent authority.

Dr McMullen said the federal government must also take prevention measures more seriously, such as a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, saying such measures are often regarded either too costly or too difficult.