Meeting of National Cabinet – Strengthening Medicare and Health Reform

The Dept of Health and Aged Care releases quarterly Medicare statistics in an accessible infographic format - the Jul-Sep YTD 2023 period saw slight decreases in Medicare and Bulk Billed Services compared to last year, with the National Bulk Billing Rate decreased from 78.1% to 74.5%. Despite this, total benefits paid increased, while the Average (out-of-hospital) Patient Contribution was less than last year at $72.64, compared to $72.87 in 2022.

This article, from the Sydney Morning Herald, looks at the nationwide shortage of pathologists and how this might be delaying pathology test results for patients. Workforce supply and workload could be improved by increasing the Medicare rebate for pathology services, by increasing funded Pathology training programs, and by adopting new technologies.

This article explores key dates for the 2024 Adult Medicine Divisional Clinical Exam (DCE) and analyses past DCE pass rates and attendence numbers from 2016 – 2023.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ News GP runs a weekly poll to gauge GP perspectives on various topics of interest. In this article, we provide a summary of poll results for last year - exploring what mattered to general practice in 2023, and the challenges that are set to continue in 2024 and beyond.