A win for doctors? Experts laud plan for state watchdogs to take over less serious complaints from AHPRA
A downside could be extra stress for doctors when AHPRA does investigate, says former Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner Beth Wilson.
A plan for AHPRA to handle only more serious complaints is a win for doctors and patients — with one potential downside, a former health regulator says.
A Federal Government-commissioned report has called for state-based regulators to receive all complaints against doctors and forward only the most serious to AHPRA, so that lower-level complaints can be dealt with more quickly.
Beth Wilson, the Victorian Health Complaints Commissioner between 1997 and 2012, told AusDoc that such reforms could prevent lesser complaints from hanging over doctors for years, assuming the state regulators were properly funded.
“It would make the current system more efficient than it currently is,” she said.
