The president of the Rural Doctors Association of Australia, Dr Megan Belot, was in Canberra on Monday to meet with federal Health Minister Mark Butler to discuss the $146 million pledged to rural health care.

Dr Belot said in a statement the $146 million package was much needed, but after recent changes to GP distribution priority areas which would see less doctor's work in rural areas, the funding was now inadequate.

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"We are going to need additional investment in a greater expansion of these programs, initiatives and other mechanisms aimed at getting more Australian-trained medical graduates and junior doctors to work in rural and remote communities," Dr Belot said.

"We need that to start with the Government's implementation of a range of new and expanded initiatives, over and above the original $146 million package."

Rural Doctors Association of Tasmania vice-president Dr Ben Dodds said with GP funding being treated as a Commonwealth funding issue, state-based solutions from the Tasmanian Department of Health were needed.

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"It's a federal issue because it's funded through Medicare rebates, but it obviously has a direct effect on the flow and access within the state hospital service - if you can't access a bulk billing GP within your area you become reliant on state services," Dr Dodds said.

He said a possible solution that had been discussed with the state government was supporting more doctors to engage in a 'rural generalist pathway' to train GPs.

The state government last year promised to build the Rural Medical Workforce Centre based at Mersey Community Hospital in the state's North-West, with a further $3 million dedicated to support rural generalist posts.

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Dr Dodds said another solution might be for the Department of Health to maintain employment of GP Registrars, which is being trialed in regional NSW.

He said this could incentivise doctors to move around the state's hospitals and practices without losing entitlements such as sick leave or maternity leave.

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