President’s Update: Key Issues in Public Hospitals, RN Prescribing, and Workplace Safety”
02 Oct 2025
While scope of practice issues often appear and disappear in the media, they remain a top priority for the AMA.
Medical practitioners have extensive training in assessment, diagnosis, clinical reasoning, and the safe selection and monitoring of treatments. Prescribing is a high-risk role — medication errors are a common cause of preventable harm and hospital admissions. The AMA has worked to ensure that RN prescribing includes safeguards to protect patient safety, and we continue to engage with NMBA, Ahpra, and the Department of Health to address ongoing concerns.
It’s important to note that this RN prescribing model is different from independent pharmacist prescribing models in some jurisdictions, which lack appropriate oversight — a model the AMA strongly opposes.
Public hospital funding
The AMA called on all levels of government to prioritise patients over political blame amid stalled negotiations on a new hospital funding model. It has been nearly two years since governments agreed in principle on a new model in 2023, yet progress has been slow.
Our Clear the Hospital Logjam campaign continues to highlight the critical state of public hospitals. Funding must be shared fairly between federal, state, and territory governments, with the Commonwealth previously committing to a 45% share.
Rural generalism and GP updates
The AMA Council of Rural Doctors (CRD) held its final meeting of the year, celebrating rural generalism being recognised as a specialty within general practice. The council discussed next steps for training, accreditation, credentialling, and Medicare Benefits Schedule access, as well as updates on rural health funding priorities.
The AMA also met with the RACGP to explore collaboration and support for members, and to discuss their Health of the Nation report, which emphasises the need to modernise Medicare and review MBS items.
National Safe Work Month
October is National Safe Work Month, and the AMA has called on governments, hospitals, training bodies, and healthcare administrators to prioritise the safety of healthcare workers, including both physical and psychosocial safety.
Members can contact the AMA President at president@ama.com.au with questions or concerns.
Source: Australian Medical Association
