Medical Training Review Panel 19th Report

Program^(a),(b)	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14
2014-15
194 - Approved Medical Deputising Services Program	109	136	157	197	205	251	314	359	441	552	690
197 - Approved Private Emergency Department Program	8	7	19	14	14	19	15	34	47	58	75
187 - Approved Placements for Sports Physicians Program (discontinued)^(c)	87	94	99	99	103	104	100	..	..	..	..
414 - Sports Physician Trainees Program	..	14	21	18	21	19	28	27	32	35	41
617 - Metropolitan Workforce Support Program (discontinued)	8	8	4	1	..	..	..	..	..	..	..
178 - Prevocational General Practice Placement Program (discontinued)	19	55	81	137	184	238	400	647	779	765	398
177 - Queensland Country Relieving Doctors Program	153	244	285	274	312	333	324	366	359	325	274
190 - Rural Locum Relief Program	633	531	527	551	622	695	832	935	1,065	1,276	1,459
179 - Special Approved Placement Program	7	13	14	36	49	84	154	210	256	352	413
198 - Temporary Resident Other Medical Practitioners Program^(c),(d)	61	66	73	78	74	73	69	68	61	60	52
176 - Remote Vocational Training Scheme	..	..	..	16	26	30	36	39	44	69	107
AGPT - Australian General Practice Training Program^(e)	1,566	1,708	1,801	1,905	2,019	2,115	2,378	2,673	3,081	3,466	3,954

1. 
   Providers have claimed through Medicare for at least one service during the reference period for the program in question using claims processed to the end of October.
   
2. 
   Providers may be counted against multiple programs and therefore programs are not additive.
   
3. 
   The Temporary Resident Other Medical Practitioner Program (198) and the Approved Placements for Sports Physician Trainees Program (187) were not location specific. All other programs were location specific.
   
4. 
   The number of providers registered against the Temporary Resident Other Medical Practitioner Program (198) who have provided eligible services and have not obtained Fellowship.
   
5. 
   AGPT groups programs 134, 430, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450, 451, 452, 453, 454, 455 and 456. Providers registered against more than one of these GPET/GPTRAINEE programs in the financial year shown are only counted once. Provider counts on the basis referred to in note (b) are not available for years before 2013-14. Providers may have only been active on a Trainee program for part of the reference period.
   

Source: The Australian Government Department of Health administrative data, 2015

Section 3GA Programs

Approved Medical Deputising Services Program

The purpose of the Approved Medical Deputising Services Program (AMDSP) is to expand the pool of available medical practitioners who may work for after-hours deputising services. This program allows otherwise ineligible medical practitioners to provide a range of restricted professional services, for which Medicare benefits will be payable, where the medical practitioner works for an approved medical deputising service.

The AMDSP was established under section 3GA of the Act in 1999 in response to concerns about the shortage of medical practitioners providing afterhours home visit services in metropolitan areas. The Australian Government Department of Health administers the program.

Approved Private Emergency Department Program

The Approved Private Emergency Department Program (APEDP) allows advanced specialist trainees undertaking emergency medicine training to work under supervision in accredited private hospital emergency departments. The program was established to enhance public access to private emergency departments by expanding the pool of doctors able to work in private hospital emergency departments.

Approved Placements for Sport Physicians Program

The Approved Placements for Sports Physicians Program (APSPP) was introduced in April 2004. At the time, sports medicine was not recognised as a medical specialty.

This 3GA program was specified in Schedule 5 of the Health Insurance Regulations as an interim measure to allow medical practitioners who gained fellowship of the Australasian College of Sports Physicians (ACSP) after 1 January 2004, and who were subject to the provisions of section 19AA of the Act, to gain access to a Medicare provider number. Once the placement has been approved, the Australian Government Department of Human Services - Medicare registers the placements using specification code 187. Providers are then able to access attendance items from Group A2 of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS), as well as from relevant procedural items, for the nominated period of the placement.

‘Sports and exercise medicine’ was recognised as a specialty under the Act in
November 2009. In 2012, the APSPP was discontinued as all sports medicine physicians are now recognised specialists and can access the relevant Medicare item numbers without requiring a 3GA program.

Sports Physician Trainees Program

Practitioners in the Sports Physician Trainees program are eligible to be registered under section 3GA of the Act as an ACSP Trainee for specific practice locations using specification code 414. These placements entitle the practitioner to access Group A2 attendance items in the Medicare Benefits Schedule, including relevant procedural items for the period of registration and at approved locations. The Australian Government Department of Human Services - Medicare receives advice on placements directly from the ACSP and registers the placements for Medicare purposes.

Australian General Practice Training Program

The Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) program is a postgraduate vocational training program for medical graduates wishing to pursue a career in general practice.
The program provides training towards fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) offered through 17 (in 2015) Regional Training Providers (RTPs) across Australia.
More detailed information about this program is included in Chapter 4.