Gwendolyn Gray's letter (September 7) concerning health services should be compulsory reading for all involved in the development of health policy.
One particularly important but often overlooked issue she identifies is that doctors obtain such a high proportion, 80per cent according to Gwen Gray, of their income from the public purse.
There should be no confidentiality in respect of payments from the public purse. If the actual Medicare reimbursements paid in respect of each medical practitioner were published, the community would better be able to assess the merits of competing claims concerning the adequacy of remuneration of the various branches of the medical profession.
Ernst Willheim, Forrest
Gwendolyn Gray's vitriolic and emotive attack on general practitioners (Letters, September 7) in the ACT betrays her profound ignorance of the role and scope of family practice.
The ACT is fortunate to have an excellent program for trainee GPs as well as an active process of maintaining professional standards for those in established practice.
Our GP trainees are exposed to a very broad syllabus and have a correspondingly broad set of skills built on a base of extensive clinical experience. Building a trusting therapeutic relationship with a patient takes time, effort and professionalism qualities that GPs are well familiar with. I am hopeful that Gwendolyn has not isolated herself and her family from the benefit of having a family doctor for it will be in that experience that she will develop a true understanding of the dedication and professionalism of our speciality. I live in hope.
Dr James Turton, General Practitioner, Waramanga Medical Centre
The letter to the editor by Gwendolyn Gray (September 7), is disappointing and fails to understand the absolutely central role of the GP and their teams in our community. GPs by their very definition are the only professionals that are trained on a strong evidence base to provide whole of person medical care.
GPs also act as coordinators of care to other more specialised services and even to complementary health practitioners where the evidence base is strong for their involvement.
No other professional group has done the study and ongoing professional development to permit substitution of this important central role in the care of the Canberra community.
Today's GP is essentially a team player and coordinator. If we are seen at times to be resistant to service substitution it is where services might be provided without other care providers being aware of the medical and drug therapies being prescribed increasing the risk of harm to patients.
GPs in Canberra don't need more patients, aren't trying to prevent coordinated approaches to team based care, and are not the money grasping professionals that are made out by Ms Gray.
Rather they are overworked, and look forward to reforms in e-health, improved inter professional communications, and welcome the appropriate involvement and collaboration of other professions in the care in their patients.
It is no surprise that both the National Health & Hospital Reform Commission report, the newly released draft Primary Health Care Strategy, and Preventative Health Task Force reports all maintain the central role of general practice in primary health care.
Dr Rashmi Sharma, president, ACT Division of General Practice
Gwendolyn Gray (Letters, September 7) calls for an interdisciplinary and preventive approach to health care, particularly since the majority of hospital admissions are for potentially preventable illness and injury.
As a salaried physician I practised for 26 years in the ANU Health Service, perceived by the University as an investment to promote the personal development and academic achievements of students.
The practice emphasised lifestyle-related matters, such as good nutrition, physical activity, stress management, contraceptive advice and anti-smoking campaigns.
Our team included a practice nurse for management of minor illness and injury and a physiotherapist for treatment of sporting and occupational injuries.
There was a good reciprocal relationship with the ANU Counselling Centre for complex psychological problems. Non-essential investigation and prescribing was kept to a minimum.
I asked Lord Howard Florey when he was ANU Chancellor whether he thought that penicillin had proved to be a useful drug.
He replied ''Yes'', but he wished doctors would not prescribe it for sore throats, the great majority of which are due to viruses, not sensitive to antibiotics.
Infectious diseases are becoming more of a problem now, with cross-infection and multiple antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals.
Bryan Furnass, Hughes