‘Lacking evidence and probably ageist’: RACGP hits out at medical board’s mandatory health checks for older doctors
'We have serious concerns that this proposed policy is ageist,' says college president Dr Nicole Higgins.
The RACGP says the Medical Board of Australia’s push on mandatory health checks for older doctors is backed by no evidence and is probably ageist.
The board wants all doctors aged 70 and over to go through a health assessment at least once every three years as a condition of their registration.
In its consultation paper, it says so-called late-career doctors are 81% more likely to be subject to a complaint than their younger colleagues.
But in a fiery response, college president Dr Nicole Higgins has accused the medical board of failing to show any evidence that mandatory health checks will reduce patient harm or notifications (see box below for the board’s statistics).
