The risks of non-doctors prescribing S4 and S8 medicines, low Medicare rebates and the devaluing of general practice all loom large for whoever wins the RACGP’s presidential election. 

As the candidates are announced today, there is a sense the landscape for GPs is changing — whether they like it or not — and that if GPs do not fight hard for health policy, they will be following a path determined by politicians, corporates and non-doctors.

The winning candidate will have to ponder whether the RACGP should put more emphasis on a combined voice with other medical groups to create a critical mass of political influence. 

They will have to think about the AI scribe revolution, the role of multidisciplinary teams and whether the GP training system is prepared for the 306 extra RACGP training places that the Federal Government is funding.