Perth patients pay $42 to see a GP as bulk-billing doctors become harder to find
Exclusive
Healthcare

Perth patients pay $42 to see a GP as bulk-billing doctors become harder to find

Claremont,Fremantle,West Perth and Subiaco emerged as the most expensive suburbs to see a GP,with the average out-of-pocket cost of an appointment exceeding $50,while patients in East Perth,Thornlie,Gosnells and Armadale were charged the least.

  • byJesinta Burton

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Prison is no place for those trapped by mental illness
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Prisons

Prison is no place for those trapped by mental illness

Not providing basic medical care to mentally impaired prisoners such as Ashley Bropho is a denial of the fundamental human right and reflects badly on our society,argues long-time prisoner right activist Gerry Georgatos.

  • byGerry Georgatos
The change to Medicare that could reduce deaths in custody
Deaths in custody

The change to Medicare that could reduce deaths in custody

Coroners,legal advocates,doctors and the NSW Inspector of Custodial Services all say the same thing:inmates need better healthcare.

  • byGeorgina Mitchell
Where you’re most and least likely to find a bulk-billing doctor
Exclusive
Mark Butler

Where you’re most and least likely to find a bulk-billing doctor

New analysis from the Department of Health gives a sharper insight into the state of bulk-billing in Australia,showing the percentage of patients who are always bulk-billed.

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos andAisha Dow
Government backbench doctors want Butler to hurry Medicare fix
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Healthcare

Government backbench doctors want Butler to hurry Medicare fix

Labor MP Mike Freelander,a doctor of 45 years,is concerned by the lack of urgency in fixing primary care,saying it was starting to look like pre-Medicare days.

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos
If GPs want more money,they’ll have to be less allergic to change
Opinion
Healthcare

If GPs want more money,they’ll have to be less allergic to change

The popular narrative is that we have an acute shortage of GPs,and they’re chronically underfunded. But that’s not the full story and doctors must face up to some uncomfortable truths.

  • byRoss Gittins
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Experts prescribe preventative treatment to fix ‘broken’ Medicare
Science

Experts prescribe preventative treatment to fix ‘broken’ Medicare

Surgery and drugs tend to take precedence over preventive programs. But many health professionals and patients say the system needs to change.

  • byLiam Mannix
Out of joint:Medicare shift urged as knee replacement rate soars
Science

Out of joint:Medicare shift urged as knee replacement rate soars

Surgery and drugs tend to take precedence over preventive programs. But many health professionals and patients say the system needs to change.

  • byLiam Mannix
Why has your doctor stopped bulk-billing?
Explainer
GPs

Why has your doctor stopped bulk-billing?

For the first time in Medicare’s history,the average gap fee is greater than the rebate for a standard GP visit. Why? And what’s the fix?

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos
Albanese says health reform top priority,but doctors unimpressed
National cabinet

Albanese says health reform top priority,but doctors unimpressed

The federal government’s Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report outlines ambitious remedies for the healthcare system but offers no immediate fix.

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos andKate Aubusson
Push to boost GP pay not part of prescription to fix Medicare
Healthcare

Push to boost GP pay not part of prescription to fix Medicare

Doctors have been calling on the federal government for years to increase the Medicare rebate for GP visits,which has barely risen in a decade.

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos andKate Aubusson