When it comes health matters Australia appears to be a war zone

If it is not the medical profession fighting with the government and states, it is doctors fighting doctors which is currently what has happened over the 2020 summit.

The rival doctors' Australian General Practice Network (AGPN) and the the Australian Medical Association (AMA) seem to be poles apart over how general practitioners are financed.

The AGPN wants practices to be given lump sums to treat chronic patients which could mean other health professionals such nurses could be given a broader role, freeing up busy GPs.

But according to the AMA patients would be worse off and they have damned the proposal as a ludicrous "dud".

Open warfare is a strong possibility as only one of the feuding groups were allowed to argue their case and only the AGPN had been invited to attend the summit - and there lies the rub.

It was AMA chief Dr. Rosanna Capolingua who started the row by declaring the lump sum proposal was bad news for patient care, bad for access and bad for efficiency.

This added fuel to the fire as both groups are eager to be the the major lobbying group for GPs.

Dr. Capolingua suggests the lump sum system would benefit governments and put them in charge of patients' health care and she has accused Dr. Carnell the CEO of the AGPN, of being a mouthpiece for the government and the AGPN being government-funded.

Currently GPs are funded on a fee-for-service basis and paid for each appointment and the AMA believes changing to a lump sum system for the practice rather than the individual GP would encourage doctors to see patients less often, and force doctors to ration patient care.

The AMA say the system is a failed UK-styled general practice reform which would see patients lose out and the government win, and demonstrates that the AGPN is out of touch.

Ms Carnell, the former ACT chief minister, says Dr. Capolingua's remarks are disappointing and more in the line of a personal attack instead of focusing on solutions that would deliver stronger general practice and a healthier Australia.

Ms Carnell says the AMA is yet to see the AGPN's proposal and the system would encourage prevention rather than cure, unlike the fee-for-service model, where practices were only paid when someone goes to see the GP.

The AMA did not make the invitation list for the summit and chose not to make a submission.

Ms Carnell was invited to be a summit delegate as her organisation submitted multiple submissions; she has also been invited by federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon to be a member of a new national taskforce on preventive health; the AMA again lacks representation at this forum.

Many professionals regard the AMA's omission from the 2020 summit as being 'narrow minded' approach to health care reform by the Australian government.