Sustaining quality general practice in a flawed market

Abstract

Background: Recent years have seen an increasing corporatization of general practice.

Objective: This paper considers how divisions of general practice should respond to the corporatization of general practice.

Discussion: Corporate models are an economically rational outcome of structural features of Medicare funding for Australian general practice. One limitation of these structures is that they are indifferent to quality. Corporate general practice competes with divisions of general practice at some level because it provides an alternative organisational structure and service values for large numbers of general practitioners. Accepting this, the challenge for divisions becomes one of differentiating themselves from the corporate model through a focus on promoting and encouraging quality practice.