The Australian Medical Association has welcomed the start of a new wounds consumable scheme — having first raised the need for patients to have better access to support with former health minister Greg Hunt in 2017.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen says the scheme is an excellent step forward in ensuring the many Australians suffering from chronic wounds get the treatment they need.
‘Following our advocacy, former health minister Greg Hunt initiated an MBS Review Taskforce to explore how patients could have better access to wound care through general practice,’ Dr McMullen said.
‘We presented a proposal for a scheme in our submission to the taskforce, calling for better Medicare support for the Australians suffering from hard-to-heal wounds.
‘Our advocacy continued with the release of our report: Solutions to the chronic wound problem, which highlighted the hidden epidemic of chronic wounds in Australia and the significant impact chronic wounds have on the healthcare system, economy and lives of Australians.’
Solutions
Dr McMullen said the report outlined several solutions to improve patient access to evidence-based wound care through general practices, again proposing a Commonwealth-funded wounds consumables scheme.
‘Subsidised wound consumables remove the cost barrier to accessing appropriate and evidence-based wound care products, reducing the financial strain on both patients and general practices,’ Dr McMullen said.
‘We applaud Health Minister Mark Butler and the government for introducing this scheme, which will greatly help patients affected by chronic wounds. But we would obviously like to see the scheme expanded to all patients with chronic wounds which would result in a further reduction in wound-related complications and hospital admissions.
‘People with diabetes over the age of 65 and First Nations Australians with diabetes over the age of 50 with chronic wounds, are eligible for the scheme, but there are many Australians outside of this group who suffer from chronic wounds.
‘As GPs, we see some terrible consequences for patients if a wound isn’t managed properly, like amputations at the worst and nasty infections at least. They can take months or even years to heal and these are totally avoidable,’ said Dr McMullen.
‘At the moment, outside of this scheme, Medicare doesn’t cover the cost of the dressings we need to treat chronic wounds correctly, so doctors are either bearing the costs themselves or are forced to pass on the cost to patients, and that’s not something we like doing.
‘Costs can mean patients wait too long to get the treatment they need, and they end up in overcrowded hospitals,’ she said.
The AMA says the wounds consumables scheme is a very important step in addressing this issue, but it can go further – ensuring it helps more Australians with chronic wounds.
‘We will continue advocating for expanded access to ensure no Australian suffers needlessly due to cost barriers in wound care,’ said Dr McMullen.
