Changes to how rural general practices are categorised will not benefit regional GPs in Northern Tasmania, according to primary healthcare providers.
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Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Greg Hunt said the government would make it easier for rural and regional clinics to recruit overseas GPs, through changes to the Distribution Priority Area classification system.
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Access to the DPA system is through clinic classifications under the Modified Monash Model, which has been expanded from clinics in catchments five to seven, to include those in catchments three to four.
Mr Hunt said the changes meant more rural and regional areas could access the DPA system to recruit overseas trained doctors.
Your Health Connect network and group general manager Roman Kiselev said the changes to the DPA classification would not benefit most rural and regional GPs.
Even with access to the DPA system, Mr Kiselev said the rules in place for hiring and supervising foreign GPs would hinder their employment in regional practices.
"Overseas trained doctors have to be supervised, so a small clinic that has one GP is pretty much incapable of employing overseas trained doctors, it doesn't matter which area they are in, because you have to have two supervisors," he said.
"If they're trying to attract overseas trained doctors to rural areas, the rules that used to be in place were much more beneficial for the clinics than they are now.
"From our perspective, the supervision restrictions need to be reviewed."
Summerdale Medical Practice partner Dr Don Rose said regional GPs in the North would miss out on access to the DPA due to their classification under the MMM.
"Northern Tasmania was a big loser out of the MMM because all the areas within 20 kilometres of the hospital had been classified as MMM-2," he said.
"They used the same classification for Launceston as they did for Hobart, so if you're within 20 kilometres of the Royal Hobart you're still in built-up Hobart, but if you're within 20 kilometres of the Launceston General Hospital you're in Exeter and Lilydale.
"All the practices reclassified as MMM-2 still have a problem with recouping costs and subsidies. The MMM just doesn't serve Tasmania well, and all these programs always target three to seven which excludes a lot of practices in Tassie."
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