In my recent reading in the Medical press I came across a study in the Medical Journal of Australia (MJA) about your opinion about Preventative health care and who you think should be providing it.
Participants saw preventive care as legitimate in general practice when it was associated with concrete action or a test, but rated their general practitioners (GP) as poor at delivering prevention. Trust, rapport and continuity of care were viewed as enablers for participants to engage in prevention with their GP. Barriers to participants seeking preventive care through their GPs included lack of knowledge about what preventive care was relevant to them, consultations focused exclusively on acute-care concerns, time pressures and the cost of consultations.
The study concluded that a disconnect exists between your (the patient) perceptions of prevention in general practice and government expectations of this sector at a time when general practice is being asked to increase its focus and effectiveness in this field.
Preventative health makes good sense. It saves the Government money and improves the wellbeing of the community. There are barriers in the way General practice works. The slower, caring, comprehensive GP is the most likely to privately bill and is often booked out. The often similarly caring GP who bulk bills is overloaded with acute cases and long consultations are less likely to be undertaken.
And so eDoc evolved. The idea was to put the power back in your hands. Know what you should be doing, ask your GP to arrange the tests, educate yourself. The real responsibility is in your hands.