Last week, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, the lobby group for pharmacy owners, decided to take a swing at general practice.

According to its NSW president David Heffernan, some GPs were operating turnstiles, filling time slots with easy, five minute “low-morbidity clients” to generate cash on the MBS.

Boosting investment in general practice would be a “disaster” for the Medicare budget, he added in an article that is unlikely to secure him any referrals for a home medication review.

RACGP president Dr Harry Nespolon is not happy: “The closest thing I see to a turnstile in healthcare is at the cash registers of the pharmacy.”