Dr Geoffrey Edelsten: The man behind the rise of the GP corporate
His involvement in the business of medicine continued despite his estrangement from the profession
Geoffrey Edelsten, widely seen as the GP responsible for the rise of bulk-billed corporate medicine in Australia, has died aged 78.
He originally studied medicine at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1966 before working as a resident at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and then a rural doctor in Victoria.
He was involved in numerous medical business ventures in the 1970s.
But it was in the early ’80s, with the help of Bob Hawke’s revamped Medicare scheme, where he first found fame when he opened walk-in, walk-out bulk-billing medical clinics.
