If I have to pay to see the GP

[donnashuggy]

I might just take a bit longer and get my moneys worth.

Usually I am aware of people waiting (but there will be less of them apparently) so I can take my time 🙂

[boris1gary]

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@debra9275 wrote:
Our doctor here, stopped bulk billing years ago. I don't know why. You have to pay $65 up front before they see you & they refund $30 into your bank account a few days later.

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A Dr told me that every area gets x amount of bulk billing Dr's they can have, i have no idea how that works. Every other service where my Dr is, is bulk billed. X-rays, blood tests and some other stuff.    

[jean2579]

Boris, we have just got a brand new Super GP Clinic which opened a few weeks ago. It is fantastic. The local aboriginal medical group won the tender to run it and it works like a charm. I normally have to wait at least 2-3 weeks to get an appointment with the local GP as he only works 2 days a week. I needed help urgently today and could just walk into this one with an immediate appointment and fully bulk billed.  It was almost packed and very little waiting. Superbly managed and they are opened 7 days a week unlike the old one which only opened Mon - Friday 9-5 and if your registered GP wasn't available none of the other docs would see you.

[cherry*135]

We have Dr owned (partners) medical centres where you pay the medicare gap. Open Mon - Fri bus. hours and Sat morn for emergencies.

Then there are bulk bill clinics, no appointments, that are free to all and are run like corporations. Open 7 days a week, from 8am to 10pm

[carls*world]

The annual Medicare bill has risen in the past 10 years from $8.1 billion to $17.8bn, and the ­frequency of GP visits has jumped from 4.3 a person in 2003-04 to 5.6 between April 2012 and March last year.

How do we as tax payers (well the people paying tax) keep on affording this...

Perhaps do a smart thing, and cap the charges? $75 for 10 minutes of chat is excessive.

[carls*world]

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@*crikey*mate* wrote:

yeah, that was kind of what I was thinking.

IJMO it is too easy to get a doctor's certificate.

where my OH works, they have to provide a certificate for even one day off. I suspect there are a fair few that simply have hangovers (or are still drunk from the night before) and thus, not genuinely sick when they have a sickie in all circumstances. Just suffering the effects of irresponsible social life.

and lest be hionest, in this day of litigation, I don't reckon that many doctors would really say to someone "you weren't sick this morning/yesterday" just in case they really were

anyway, maybe I'm wrong. But there seem to be an awful lot of sickies taken on days around weekends and days off.

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Which could well account for a fair percentage of the increased visits. Even if we are sick, simple thing like a gastric problem, that many of us already know how to deal with, and just need the one day off, now have to go to the doc, just for a confirmation note.

[carls*world]

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@debra9275 wrote:
& on the other hand, I know people who are supposedly owed years of sick days because they never take them.

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Last place I left after 3 years service, I had 25 under my belt.