{"id":1668,"date":"2023-01-11T00:48:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T00:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=1668"},"modified":"2022-12-19T05:54:02","modified_gmt":"2022-12-19T05:54:02","slug":"how-do-i-find-the-right-gp-for-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/health\/how-do-i-find-the-right-gp-for-me\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I find the right GP for me?"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"1668\" class=\"elementor elementor-1668\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-c750c8c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"c750c8c\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-640ec71\" data-id=\"640ec71\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2a9979d elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2a9979d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>I<strong>f you have a regular GP, you\u2019ll likely want to stay with them as long as possible \u2013 but that may not be on the cards.<\/strong><\/p><p>Especially as you get older, you might find that your current GP can\u2019t meet your needs, or they retire, or their practice closes down or radically changes its offering (or you simply never had a regular GP in the first place, which isn\u2019t uncommon).<\/p><p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/with-so-many-gps-leaving-the-profession-how-can-i-find-a-new-one-190666\">Writing in <em>The Conversation<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, GPs David King and Rhys Cameron, both senior lecturers at the University of Queensland, said it\u2019s important to have a good GP who you can trust to coordinate your specific healthcare needs.<\/p><blockquote><p>As practising GPs ourselves, we are often asked: \u2018Do you know a good GP?\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote><p><em><strong>\u201cThis can be a somewhat difficult question to answer, as each person\u2019s perception of \u2018good\u2019 is highly subjective, dependent on many factors.<\/strong><\/em><\/p><p><em><strong>\u201cStudies of peoples\u2019 preferences have varied results. One study found the listening ability of the GP to be important. Other studies found patients put more value in clinical competency, a trusting relationship or continuity of care,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> they wrote.<\/p><p>Dr King and Dr Cameron offer this list of six things to consider when looking for a GP who suits you:<\/p><ul><li><strong>What are your health needs? <\/strong>Younger and fitter people won\u2019t need to visit their GP as often, so if you find one who\u2019s convenient and has an easy booking progress, that will likely work for you. By contrast, if you have a disability and\/or chronic complex medical conditions, you should find someone more consistent and thorough.<\/li><li><strong>How much do they charge?<\/strong> Unfortunately, GPs who bulk bill are getting rarer and rarer, so chances are you\u2019ll need to either pay out of pocket for your consult or deal with a bulk-billing doctor who is seeing more patients \u2013 and thus has less time for you. As a rule of thumb, the Australian Medical Association recommends $86 for a 15-minute consult, with $39 coming back to you as a Medicare rebate.<\/li><li><strong>How big and accessible is their practice?<\/strong> How far away are they, and will they be open at the times that are best for you? You should also consider the size of the practice, as a larger one will be more likely to fit you in to see a doctor when you need one (even if they\u2019re not your regular doctor), and their accessibility for people with disabilities \u2013 as well as any telehealth options they may offer.<\/li><li><strong>What are their reviews like?<\/strong> Drs King and Cameron warn that it can be \u201ctricky\u201d to judge a GP based on online reviews alone, as fewer than 10% of people post them and their reasons for a negative review may not be especially sound. That said, if a GP does have a lot of good reviews in places like Facebook community groups, that\u2019s usually a positive sign.<\/li><li><strong>How new are they to the profession?<\/strong> You might balk at seeing a young doctor without a lot of experience, but consider that they\u2019ll probably have a lot of appointments available \u2013 as well as the very latest knowledge from medical school.<\/li><li><strong>Do they specialise?<\/strong> It can be useful to have a GP with a sub-specialty such as gynaecology, skin cancer care, mental health, or musculoskeletal health, as they\u2019ll likely have a shorter wait time and charge less than a dedicated specialist. Check the practice website for their post-graduate training.<\/li><\/ul><p>Drs King and Cameron also recommend checking the practice\u2019s accreditation status, the GP\u2019s qualifications, and the standard length for a consult \u2013 but ultimately, they say, the real test is how you get on with them in person.<\/p><blockquote><p>You don\u2019t know that your GP is great until you\u2019ve journeyed with them through some potentially challenging times of your life.<\/p><\/blockquote><p><em><strong>\u201cWe encourage you to use the above tips to find a suitable GP, then give them some time to get to know you and grow a therapeutic relationship,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> they said.<\/p><p><em><strong>\u201cWith continuity of care, trust will grow, as will knowledge about you and your values. This will ultimately improve your overall health care experience.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you have a regular GP, you\u2019ll likely want to stay with them as long as possible \u2013 but that may not be on the cards. Especially as you get older, you might find that your current GP can\u2019t meet your needs, or they retire,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[130,101,95],"class_list":["post-1668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","tag-gp","tag-health","tag-tips"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1668"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1673,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions\/1673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}