SATURDAY
21st DECEMBER 2002
I am a practising GP, I graduated as a doctor 20 years ago and have been in active General Practice for over 10 years.
For some reason people think doctors are rich just because they are doctors or worse some portray us as putting money above patient care . I am not trying to give you some sob story nor make excuses for the "bad eggs" that are in any trade or profession but I want to put in perspective something my colleagues are often reluctant to talk about publicly.
Maybe a long time ago medicine was a lucrative profession, maybe some sectors of the profession it still is but at least for General Practice those days have not been around for decades. From a financial point of view General Practice it is like any other small business these days - a struggle. Certainly ,its not as tough as it is for many people in this country, and I am not suggesting that we need welfare assistance ! But the I think it is important to understand that the public picture may not be quite realistic.
It's widely held that solo general practice is not viable any more. People still want a family doctor. They want their doctor to spend time with them . But they also want to be bulk billed.....
In the early 1980's Medicare came into existence, providing a government subsidised public health system.
A percentage of everybody's tax forms a "Medicare levy" this pool of money is used to fund public hospitals (together State governments), the pharmaceutical benefits scheme and provide a rebate on the cost of some private medical services. This includes doctors consultations. The rebate ( which is the amount you receive back from Medicare when you see a doctor - or the amount the doctor will receive on your behalf when you are bulk billed) is just that a rebate . It is NOT, and was never meant to be, the recommended retail price of a medical consultation. In fact even the Health Insurance Commission (HIC) in its Medicare schedule ( the list of rebate items) lists the rebate amount as a percentage of its Schedule fee ( the Governments view of a recommended retail price of a consultation ) The Australian Medical Association (I am not a member) has another view on the recommended retail price of a medical consultation.
I don't believe that the majority of doctors are driven by financial motives I also know that they receive no meaningful financial training in the medical degree courses that I know of.
There is pressure on doctors to bulk bill everyone. In order to meet financial demands of the business side of medicine - rent, staff and overheads the only way to keep up with this pressure would seem to be increase the through put. Of course this is not acceptable to anyone patient or doctor as this could mean a slip in the quality of service.
What is the fair thing to do ?
Today we'll be talking with Prof Michael Kidd the president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) . The college is NOT a lobby group - they are the peak body for education and training of Specialist General Practitioners.
I would be interested in your opinions of what you expect from your GP and what you think is a reasonable price to pay for that .
click HERE to visit the Federal Government Health Insurance Commission and Medicare site
click HERE to visit the RACGP
When you are planning your Christmas gift list there is one person its important to leave off - your local Burglar !
Holiday time is a boon for crime. If you are going away you need to make sure your home is secure. Acting Sgt Karen Rendell from Neighbourhood Watch has a great list of tips for home security - She'll be joining me on the program to discuss ways to minimise your risk of break in this summer.
The Neighbourhood Watch Web site has a great interactive "virtual house" - you can "'walk through" and find tips for home securty as you go
click HERE to read Karen Rendell's Neighourhood watch tips for home security over the holidays
click
HERE to visit Neighbourhood
Watch
Most people have a good understanding about the way blood circulates around the body . It is pumped by the heart through thick walled muscular arteries which get progressively narrower as they branch out spreading through the organs and tissues of the body, until they become tiny capillaries . Here the exchange of goods occurs between the blood stream and cells. Oxygen and Nutrients are exchanged for waste products. These are then carried back via veins of ever increasing calibre to the body's disposal units - the liver spleen and kidneys.. Yes, yes you know all that - and you can probably even reel off some blood vessel names like the Aorta, the Vena Cava ....but what about the Lymphatic system? How much do you know about that ?
The Lymphatic system is the body's quiet achiever is an adjunct to the blood circulation system - the sort of back room production boys who support the starring role enjoyed by the veins and arteries. No bright red stuff here lymph is clear fluid and it flows through vessels travelling along side the veins .
At the capillary level where the goods exchange happens there is fluid seepage into area between the tissue and the blood vessels This is where the lymphatic system steps in. One part of its role is to maintain a good fluid balance. If there is too much fluid in this space it mops up the excess and takes it back to the heart for recycling.
At strategic positions long the branches and networks of the lymphatic system are small factories with sentry boxes - these are lymph nodes. The lymph vessels pass through the nodes where the fluid is surveyed for foreign proteins like bacteria and viruses. The nodes are primed ready to release armies of antibodies into the blood stream if an invader is recognised.
Lymphatic vessels
have many valves in there tubes to prevent back flow. The vessels are thin
walled and the fluid is moved along back to the heart by our large muscle
movements which can be why your feet swell when you sit still for
long periods.
Finally the lymphatic system collects into a big tube in the chest called the thoracic duct which then empties the remaining fluid directly into the heart where it joins the blood stream again .
Lymphoedema is a condition where the lymphatic system fails to remove the fluid from the area outside the blood vessels and tissue and it collects as a backlog causing "oedema" of swelling of the local area. Gravity plays a big part in where the fluid collects. It is caused by a blockage failure or removal of lymph vessels or nodes.
This may be caused by trauma - commonly through surgery or radiation treatment of cancer of the breast ( arms swell) or prostate ( legs swell) - . Or cancer affecting the lymph nodes them selves - or infection.
Lymphoedema can be a debilitating condition and controlling the swelling often involves diet exercise compression garments, and specialised physiotherapy
Dr
Robyn Box is a physiotherapist from Queensland University. Her department is
currently looking for volunteers to be part of a study into improved methods of
early detection of lymphoedema of the legs . The project is being
undertaken in conjunction with Monash University in Victoria
click HERE to read more about the Lymphoedema Study
click HERE to visit the Royal Brisbane Hospital department of Physiotherapy research page
JUDITH
DURHAM
Judith
Durham needs no introduction. She was our first International Pop Diva and
together with her musical colleagues Athol Guy, Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley,
the Seekers are said to have put Australia on the world map musically in
the 1960's .
As the lead singer with the Seekers she is as popular now as she was when Georgie Girl was young. The Carnival has never been over for the Seekers who are about to board more than a train bound for morning town because they are about to go back on the road in 2003 on their "never say never again" world tour . It will also mark Judith's 60th Birthday.
This year marked 40 years since the Seekers began and this was commemorated in Australian Stamps.
Judith joins me in the studio today to tell us all about the tour and life as a Seeker.
click HERE to visit the official Seekers website
I was looking through a scrap book my grandfather had kept and came across a newpaper clipping from 1938. The article was about a new holiday idea that was booming in Australia - Caravanning ! My Grandfather was quoted as he was, at the time, the Chairman of the Country Roads Board and had been Chairman of the Victorian tourist Resort Committee. He was encouraging families to get out and have a good time. I spoke to my parents about the article and they say that family legend has it that my Great Grandfather, an architect, built the first caravan in Australia in the early 1900's - don't you love family folk lore - I have no idea if its true or not .....may be I'll be able to find out today ! (I had no idea that caravans are in my blood )
These days Caravans are a far cry from the one my geat grandfather might have built - they are amazing and have all the comforts of home and then some ! While the traditional trailer style caravans are easily recognisable. Watch out for the hidden treasures! I cant believe the ingenuity of some of them - they look more like something out of a bond movie when with a press of a button a bundle on the roof rack billows and twists into a mansion !
Peter
Wright is the
Executive Officer of Caravan Industry Australia
and he's joining us from BATEMANS BAY
where he is on the road with his caravan
!
Click HERE
to visit Caravan Industry Australia site - there are great lists of places
to go with your caravan as well as info on caravans and other recreational
vehicles
While the summer holiday period is a time for families and friends to get together, have fun and celebrate life, it can also be a time when road trauma increases.
The combination of people going on holidays and increased demand for blood products can mean problems for the Red Cross Blood Bank. It is important to think about giving blood now.
Why not Look at it as your Christmas gift to the community.........
This year has been a big year for the Rad Cross as Bali Disaster has put extra strain on resources. Dr Brenton Wylie , CEO if the Red Cross Blood Bank will be joining me in the studio to give us an update on the current state of blood bank supplies and tell us how we can help.
The link below can show you what blood types are in low supply. If you know your blood group you might be able to help. If you don't know your blood group you can find out by donating.
Click HERE to go to the Red Cross Blood Bank and view current levels of blood stock
Click HERE to visit the Red Cross Blood Bank Site front page
call
the RED CROSS BLOOD BANK on
131495
If its in a wok then Elizabeth Chong knows it ! This energetic fabulous lady is Australia's leading authority on Chinese cooking. She has her own cooking school and has written many books on the subject. She appears regularly on Good Morning Australia and I can tell you first hand that the smells in that studio are magnificent when Elizabeth has been there !
Elizabeth has ben teaching Australians about Chinese cooking since 1961 but her connection with food goes back so much further. Her father was a restaurateur infact in 1945 HE made Australia's first Dim Sim !!
Asian cooking is now a part of just about every Australians staple diet and Elizabeth is joining us today to give us some tips for healthy summer eating
( and may be even some last
minute Christmas eating ideas)
Click HERE to read an article in the Age newspaper about Elizabeth Chong
Click HERE to read what Elizabeth's late friend Mietta has to say about her ( take some time to look around Mietta's site - its fabulous)
click
HERE
to find out about Elizabeth's books
TRACING YOUR FAMILY ORGINS
Sue
Macbeth is always an extremely popular guest on our program - She is a
wealth of information on tracing your family . Sue joins us again today.
click HERE to visit Sue Macbeth's genealogy services site