1 day Ago By Saffron Howden, Lanie Tindale
A health regulator's bungled IT rollout could mean "long travel times, longer waits" to see a doctor. or signup to continue reading A computer upgrade by regulator Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has delayed doctor registrations. The regulator said the implementation of a new IT system in March caused "some delays" in processing the registrations of medical practitioners.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACPG) said it was aware of at least seven international medical graduate doctors training as GPs affected by the regulation delays. RACGP rural chair Associate Professor Michael Clements said no Australian should be stopped from seeing a GP because of an administration bungle. Administrative processes shouldn't be a roadblock to patients' access to their GP," Professor Clements said.
"Any disruption to a specialist GP's ability to practice has a greater impact on rural, regional, and remote communities, where there are fewer GPs who can help patients and colleagues affected by an administrative issue. "There's no substitute for a specialist GP, and in rural communities, finding an alternative GP may mean long travel times, longer waits, and disruptions to the continuity of your care." Australia does not have enough doctors, especially GPs, to meet demand.
This shortage is particularly dire in regional areas and coincides with in NSW. A federal government report showed the country , predicting that could more than double by 2033. International medical graduates are practitioners who received their qualifications outside of Australia or New Zealand.
The Australian government has a scheme to encourage international medical graduates to work as GPs in rural and remote areas. AHPRA said the process to register internationally qualified health practitioners was complex and could ordinarily take up to six weeks before completion. Professor Clements said the regulator was aware of the delays and was prioritising processing registration application and renewals.
"Resolving the issue and clearing any backlog as soon as possible should be AHPRA's top priority. Any GP whose registration has been delayed should be allowed to start or return to practice as soon as possible," he said. GP recruitment company Doctor Connect said on social media that call wait times were stretching to hours, often ending with a voicemail saying, "Information can't be retrieved due to a systems upgrade".
The company said AHPRA informed them that the original system was turned off on March 12, with the new system expected to be upgraded by March 17, "but unexpected issues arose". Director Dave Bell told ACM, the publisher of this masthead, the issue had been "very painful for doctors and practices". "Although this is very painful for the doctors and practices, we know that the team at AHPRA are working hard to get it right," Mr Bell said.
"Anecdotally, AHPRA and immigration [authorities] seem to be understaffed, or at least that current staff might be inexperienced." He said AHPRA seemed to be working hard to assist doctors affected by the problem, and said it was good the regulator had updated their system. AHPRA said it was taking staff time to learn the new operating software.
"A new system takes time for our staff to learn and use efficiently, and this means there will be some delays to the normal time frames for our regulatory services," a spokesperson said. They said the new system was designed to be faster, more secure and easier to use. "AHPRA now regulates more than 920,000 practitioners which is nearly double the number when the scheme began 15 years ago.
The demands for AHPRA services grow each year," the spokesperson said. "This new operating system is designed to provide greater capacity to meet the increased workload and better serve practitioners, applicants and students. "To mitigate any potential impact on the health workforce we implemented the new system during the time of year we traditionally receive the fewest new applications for registration, flagged the new system [early to ensure] employers were prepared and [are ensuring] urgent applications are assessed within the required timeframes and can be escalated if issues arise.
" Saffron is a journalist, editor and author with more than 20 years experience covering news. Get in touch: saffron.howden@austcommunitymedia.
com.au Saffron is a journalist, editor and author with more than 20 years experience covering news. Get in touch: saffron.
[email protected] Lanie is an ACT politics and health reporter at The Canberra Times.
She previously worked as City Reporter and was a trainee for the masthead. You can contact her at lanie.tindale@canberratimes.
com.au or [email protected].
Lanie is an ACT politics and health reporter at The Canberra Times. She previously worked as City Reporter and was a trainee for the masthead. You can contact her at lanie.
[email protected] or lanietindalejourno@protonmail.
com. Daily Today's top stories curated by our news team. Weekdays Grab a quick bite of today's latest news from around the region and the nation.
Weekdays Catch up on the news of the day and unwind with great reading for your evening. Weekly Get the editor's insights: what's happening & why it matters. Weekly Going out or staying in? Find out what's on.
Weekly Love footy? We've got all the action covered. Weekly The latest news, results & expert analysis. Weekly Every Saturday and Tuesday, explore destinations deals, tips & travel writing to transport you around the globe.
Weekdays Sharp. Close to the ground. Digging deep.
Your weekday morning newsletter on national affairs, politics and more. Twice weekly Your essential national news digest: all the big issues on Wednesday and great reading every Saturday. Twice weekly Get real, Australia! Let the ACM network's editors and journalists bring you news and views from all over.
Weekly Get news, reviews and expert insights every Thursday from CarExpert, ACM's exclusive motoring partner. As it happens Be the first to know when news breaks. Daily Your digital replica of Today's Paper.
Ready to read from 5am! Daily Test your skills with interactive crosswords, sudoku & trivia. Fresh daily! Advertisement Advertisement.
