AMAV VICDOC Winter 2024 - Magazine - Page 46
IN MOST FAMILIES, WOMEN ARE STILL AT
THE HEART OF HEALTHCARE, SO THEY’RE
OUR PRIORITY AT THE WOMEN’S HEALTH
CENTRE — BUT WE'RE ALSO HAPPY TO
SEE MEN AND CHILDREN.
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FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE, WE EXPERIENCE
FINANCIAL CONFLICT WITH EVERY CONSULTATION
BECAUSE A PRACTICE JUST CANNOT SURVIVE ON
BULK BILLING.
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Medicare is so unbelievably difficult for
We have a physiotherapist, a psychologist, GPs. In specialist care it’s much more
a female surgeon who's mostly interested
straightforward. You just have two main
items: a new patient or a review. But a GP,
in breast surgery, one gynaecologist, one
paediatrician, and six GPs. They’re supported with every little step, they need to think,
by three nurses, a practice manager and
can I bill for that? Our GPs have a lot of
knowledge about Medicare. I come from a
administration staff. It’s fantastic to run my
own practice and make our own decisions. country where healthcare is on individual
patient needs, not external financial drivers.
If something is not running well, we ask,
I think this would be better here in Australia,
‘How can we do this better?’ and start to
but that would demand a complete overhaul
make the changes we want to see. Here
of the whole system.
we are quite flexible. My leadership style
is more transformational than transactional;
HEALTH HAS ALWAYS BEEN LOOKED AT FROM
I try not to micromanage anybody.
SOCIOECONOMICALLY, SHEPPARTON IS NOT
AS PROSPEROUS AS SOMEWHERE LIKE
MELBOURNE. LIFE CAN BE CHALLENGING.
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Endometriosis, menopause, fertility and
perinatal health – particularly mental
health – are major issues for women in our
catchment. There are not enough specialists,
including gynaecologists, and the public
waiting list is very long. We also get referrals
from surrounding towns like Deniliquin,
Echuca, sometimes even Seymour and
Kilmore. This means it can be very difficult
for women to access the care they need in
a timely fashion, especially if they’re not
privately insured or don’t have the funds.
Sometimes women have to travel an hour
or even an hour and a half to get checked.
That can also present a barrier.
46
AMA VI C TO RIA
A MALE PERSPECTIVE; TRADITIONALLY,
ALL OUR LITERATURE AND EVERYTHING
THAT WE LEARN ABOUT DISEASES IS
BASED ON HOW MEN PRESENT.
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How we treat them is also based on results
from male research participants. So, we
often don't know how women respond to
medications or treatments. Now there’s
a quota, saying that you must have a
proportion of women in your research.
The quota came about in 2016, when
a group of experts from nine countries
designed the SAGER (Sex And
Gender Equality in Research) rules, an
international set of guidelines for more
gender balance in research. So, this is
changing. The medical students have to
do a research project, and we make it
female-focused. One recent research project
was based on how women felt they were
treated by our GPs based on their BMI.
