It’s so hard to see a physician right away. What are my options?

Deciding whether to attend and see in case your health condition improves or go to a GP could be a difficult task. You could be unsure about where to go, whom to see, how much it should cost and whether you’ll have to take break day work.

These selections can create significant barriers to accessing health care in Australia. There is usually limited information available in regards to the pros and cons of different options. Often, we follow what we all know, unaware of higher alternatives.

But making the flawed decision about the way to access care can impact each your health and funds. So what are your options? And what policy reforms are needed to enhance reasonably priced access to take care of all Australians?

How quickly can I be seen?

Access is dependent upon how long it takes you to talk to a GP, or be seen in an emergency department, or by a community pharmacist, or a nurse practitioner whom you’ll be able to see directly. Access is dependent upon where you reside and the time of day.

The rise of telehealth means GPs now receives a commission to refer to you on the phone, which is great for a lot of minor ailments, medical certificates, repeat scripts or getting test results. Call centres similar to Healthdirect have been available for a while and now virtual emergency departments can even see you online.

There are even GPs who only provide their services online when you will pay. A phone call can prevent worthwhile time. Before COVID, you needed to take half a time off work to see a GP, now it takes five to 10 minutes and the GP even calls you.

Things get more tricky outside of normal working hours and at weekends – appointments are harder to come back by, it’s unlikely you’ll have the opportunity to see a GP whom you recognize, and out-of-pocket costs could be higher.

If you’ll be able to’t wait, your local emergency department is prone to be more accessible, otherwise you could be lucky enough to live near a bulk-billed Medicare urgent care clinicwhere you don’t need an appointment. Tomorrow’s federal budget will include funding for an additional 29 urgent care clinics, on top of the 58 already operating.

But things are much worse when you live if a rural or distant area, where selection is proscribed and it’s essential to wait for much longer for GP appointments or travel long distances. Telehealth helps but could be expensive if it isn’t together with your usual doctor.

Who will I see?

Access is dependent upon who you will note. At the moment, this may often be your GP (or, depending on the severity of your health concern, your community pharmacist or local emergency department staff). But to see your chosen GP you would possibly have to wait as they are frequently very busy.

But a review of “scope of practice” in primary care goals to release GPs’ time and use their skills more effectively.

So in future, you may receive more of your health care from qualified nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists and other health professionals.

But which tasks could be delegated to other health professionals is a major bone of contention for GPs. For GP practices facing significant cost pressures, safely delegating tasks to other less expensive health professionals also makes good business sense.

Read more:
We’re only using a fraction of medical experts’ skills. This needs to alter

How much will it cost?

Access is dependent upon out-of-pocket costs. Bulk billing of GP services reached a peak of 89.6% within the September quarter of 2022 but plummeted to 76.5% by the September quarter of 2023.

Last November, bulk billing incentives for kids under 16 and people on concession cards were tripled, and between November and December 2023 bulk billing had increased from 76.5% to 77.7%.

They key issue for patients is that it stays uncertain whether a GP will bulk bill you. You often don’t know this until you get into the consultation, at which point you’ll be able to’t back out. Unless the entire practice bulk bills and so it’s guaranteed, it’s entirely as much as the GP whether you’re bulk billed. It’s difficult to think about some other service where you don’t understand how much you can pay until after you’ve gotten used it.

How can policymakers improve access to care?

Government policies to strengthen primary care have focused on giving patients improved access through telehealth, urgent care clinics and Strengthening Medicare initiatives, that are currently being developed.

But uncertainty surrounding out-of-pocket costs can deter people from looking for medical attention, or delay care or go as a substitute to the emergency department or urgent care clinic where there isn’t a out-of-pocket cost.

Cost is an element that results in 20% of those with a mental health problem and 30% of those with chronic disease to delay or avoid visiting a health skilled. Those most in need usually tend to miss out on mandatory visits and prescriptions, sometimes with disastrous consequences. A recent study shows people can die in the event that they stop heart medications because of increased out-of-pocket costs.

The next task for policymakers ought to be developing policies to ensure there aren’t any out-of-pocket costs for those on low incomes. This might be a worthwhile investment in our health and ought to be included in tomorrow’s budget.