Trends in the non-GP specialist sector

Following on from the 2017 report on trends in general practice, the Melbourne Institute with support from the ANZ bank released a report on the medical specialist sector in June 2018. This report outlines key trends and challenges, as well as detailing the marked variation in earnings both within and between medical specialties. In the context of ever-increasing health expenditures and a lack of routine data collection it is difficult to judge if the specialist sector could provide increased value for money. In keeping with international trends, key challenges relate to public reporting of performance and quality; reducing the level of low-value care; increasing fee transparency; changes to the MBS; and the linking of hospital funding to quality. Calls for better value care, combined with a growing supply of specialists, could increase competition and put pressure on private practice revenues and business models. These pressures present opportunities to develop the sector in a more strategic way so as to improve the health outcomes of the population.

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Listen to Tony Scott and Richard Grayson discuss the report on the ANZ Bluenotes podcast.