Bid to improve public hospital waiting times with ‘doctor’ roles for ‘untrained’ health workers

PHARMACISTS, podiatrists and physiotherapists would gain power to perform tasks restricted to doctors under a controversial plan which some fear may jeopardise patients’ health.

PHYSIOTHERAPISTS, podiatrists and pharmacists would be able to prescribe drugs and perform other tasks usually restricted to doctors under a controversial overhaul of public hospital roles mooted in Queensland.

In a bid to battle public hospital waiting times, selected allied health practitioners would gain limited powers to order drug prescriptions, X-rays and scans, suture wounds and apply plaster casts under plans to expand their scope of practice and free up doctors to perform more complex tasks.

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Queensland Health director General Ian Maynard said pilot projects would test the new roles before they were rolled out statewide.

Some changes – for example prescribing drugs – will require new legislation brought through state parliament.

Local health boards would then decide how they implement the new roles.

Mr Maynard said allied health professionals overseas were already performing expanded roles “very effectively”.

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Shaun Rudd said he was concerned about allowing allied health professionals to prescribe medications, such as painkillers, antibiotics and repeat prescriptions for antidepressants, given the large amount of training doctors have in the area.

“It’s not simple, it’s quite complicated,’’ he said. “Even someone like myself who’s been in the business for many, many years, will still at times get it wrong. You have to take into account a patient’s past history, you have to take into account what other medications they’re taking.’’

The suggested new roles for allied health professionals are contained in a ministerial taskforce report aimed at reducing growing public hospital outpatient waiting lists and emergency department delays.

Dr Rudd said the AMA was developing a policy on the proposals. He said cost implications needed to be addressed.

“It’s well recognised that when you open up these sorts of things that costs go up, more tests get ordered, more drugs get dispensed,’’ Dr Rudd said. “That’s not a good thing.’’

Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ Queensland branch chairman Bernard Whitfield welcomed the report.

“We’re pretty supportive,’’ he said. “We can’t go on doing things the way they are because there’s too much demand. We’re not swapping allied health professionals for doctors. We’re just making them work better together to see more patients faster while maintaining the same overall quality.’’

Dr Whitfield said Logan Hospital audiologists were already able to order scans under specific circumstances, working closely with ear, nose and throat specialists to reduce the ENT outpatients’ list. “It’s not carte blanche for anybody to do it without going through the relevant credentialing process,’’ Dr Whitfield said.

Originally published as Bid to improve public hospital waiting times with ‘doctor’ roles for ‘untrained’ health workers