Top psychiatrist Patrick McGorry blows whistle on specialists’ ‘profiteering’
Medical ‘profiteering’ is inflating health costs, an eminent psychiatrist has warned, as new data from The Australian’s Needs of The Nation survey reveals Australians are struggling to pay soaring medical bills.
Medical “profiteering’’ is inflating health costs, an eminent psychiatrist has warned, as new data from The Australian’s Needs of The Nation survey reveals Australians are struggling to pay soaring medical bills.
Orygen executive director Patrick McGorry – a former Australian of the Year who founded free youth mental health service Headspace – has blown the whistle on what he considers to be overcharging and overdiagnosis by some medical specialists. He revealed some private psychiatrists are charging up to $3000 to diagnose mental health disorders.
He warned that children are being “overdiagnosed’’ with autism or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder so they can access extra help at school, or public funding through the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
“Most people don’t normally seek a psychiatric diagnosis, but these (autism and ADHD) diagnoses are being sought by consumers,’’ he told The Australian.
“Unfortunately the professionals are cashing in on that – they’re charging large amounts of money for the assessments, which are like gateways to diagnosis and therefore special forms of care, whether it’s the NDIS or access to stimulant medication.
“I’ve heard figures of $1800 to $3000 for assessments.’’
Asked if this was profiteering, Professor McGorry replied: “I think it is. I just think it’s excessive and it’s not just psychiatrists, it’s surgeons.
“All medical specialists charge something like two-thirds on top of what the government will pay (through Medicare rebates).
“The whole idea that we’ve got universal healthcare in Australia is just a fantasy at the moment.’’
An autism diagnosis can be given after one or two sessions with a psychiatrist, yet the maximum Medicare rebate is $445 per session. Professor McGorry said that he always bulk-billed psychiatry appointments through Headspace.
His intervention comes as national polling for The Australian’s exclusive Needs of the Nation survey reveals a loss of confidence in the public health system, as patients wait longer for operations and spend more on out-of-pocket costs. The Australian commissioned polling on key questions of national interest for the masthead’s 60th anniversary, comparing some statistics with a Newspoll conducted in 2014 for the 50th anniversary.
Confidence in the health system has crumbled over the past decade.
Only one in four Australians surveyed by The Growth Distillery this year was very confident of receiving high-quality and safe medical care – down from 47 per cent 10 years ago.
Affordability has fallen, with only 59 per cent of Australians confident they will be able to afford the healthcare they need – down from 85 per cent a decade ago, according to the survey of 1042 people.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data reveals public hospital waiting lists have grown longer over a decade.
One in four patients was not admitted for surgery within the clinically recommended time across NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia in 2022-23.
Back in 2013-14, at least 95 per cent of patients in NSW, WA and SA received surgery within the clinically recommended time. At least 83 per cent of patients in Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and Northern Territory received prompt surgery in 2013-14. In Tasmania, 62 per cent of patients received an operation within clinically recommended times in 2022-23, down from 65 per cent in 2013-14.
Households’ healthcare costs have risen 8 per cent, in real terms, over a decade. Out-of-pocket expenses cost $1300 for every man, woman and child, on average, in 2021-22 – up from $1202 in 2013-14, using constant pricing.
The cost of doctor visits – including GPs, medical specialists and psychiatrists – rose 27 per cent in real terms, while spending on prescription medicines soared 31 per cent.
Consumers Health Forum of Australia chief executive Dr Elizabeth Deveny said she knew of people selling clothes on eBay to pay for medical specialist appointments. “We’re already seeing an increase in deaths from diseases like cancer and heart problems because people aren’t getting screenings, or getting care early,’’ she said. “If care is expensive, people tend to only go to the doctor when they really need to, instead of getting regular check-ups, screenings and vaccinations.’’
Army veteran Geoff Carter, 67, is being treated for prostate cancer that spread after repeated delays through the public hospital system in Queensland.
Mr Carter said he was referred for a biopsy in July 2022 but the procedure was delayed twice after both he and the surgeon caught Covid-19. He ended up waiting five months for the biopsy, at the end of January last year.
“They said it was a very aggressive form of cancer, but the good news it was still in the prostate so we’ll rip it out and you’ll be OK,’’ the Caboolture resident told The Australian. “But they left it there for three months before they got to me for surgery, and they didn’t get it all (out) – so now I have to go through radiation treatment. That was very traumatic, to sit there thinking I’ve got this very aggressive cancer inside me that is growing and growing until these people decide they want to operate.’’
Devastated to learn his cancer had spread, Mr Carter called on governments to put more money into hiring extra doctors and nurses for public hospitals.
“I had to wait eight months before getting an operation, from the time (the prostate abnormality) was picked up (in a blood test),’’ he said “I love all the doctors and nurses but the government does not supply enough funding, or train enough new people to replace the ones getting out.
“Most of the money goes into administration while the nurses are doing double shifts.’’
Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson said successive governments had “skimped on healthcare spending’’.
“We know that outside of our cities, for love nor money, it’s hard to see a GP because there just aren’t any,” he said. “And in other areas where there are GPs, often there are big delays in being able to get an appointment or in many cases care is unaffordable.
“All of this represents a combination of 25 years of neglect and it’s really hard for the system to catch up after so long.
“Affordable healthcare needs to be one of the fundamental priorities of any government.’’
Professor Robson said Medicare rebates for GPs are so low that most medical graduates train as specialists instead.
“When I was a medical student, about half of all doctors wanted to be GPs, but now probably 15 per cent of medical graduates want to be GPs,’’ he said. “A lot of the demand in our emergency departments is driven by the fact people just can’t get good, long-term general practice care. Often people can’t afford to see a GP often enough to have their medical conditions stabilised, so they end up getting worse and the only place they can actually get care then is an emergency department.’’
Professor Robson said waiting lists for planned surgery “are at levels never seen before in our history’’.
