|
The Rural Retention Program is a Commonwealth Government initiative that aims to recognise and retain long-serving general practitioners (GPs) in rural and remote communities with a high relative need for retention support.
Encouraging such GPs to continue practising in these communities will contribute to better access, continuity in medical care and better health outcomes in rural and remote Australia.
The program was developed in close consultation with the Rural Doctors Association of Australia and other key organisations, and has two parts:
A Central Payments System
This is administered by Medicare Australia (formerly the Health Insurance Commission) which assesses eligibility based on Medicare data on doctors' services and locations.
A Flexible Payments System
This is administered by state-based Rural Workforce Agencies (RWAs). It assists long-serving providers of primary medical care not adequately catered for by the Central Payments System because their services are not adequately taken into account (where services are provided outside Medicare or a period of acceptability leave has caused accrued eligibility to be lost).
|
