HEALTH Minister Nicola Roxon believes doctors should be paid more to do difficult operations - and less to complete less complex tasks.
Speaking tonight at the annual Light on the Hill dinner in Bathurst, she will argue the nation`s health workers needs to be used more effectively.
"Right now ... GPs are paid for the number for patients they see of services they deliver - not for any health impact the intervention might deliver," she said.
"The current Medicare structure means a GP will receive more money for seeing 10 patients in an hour than they will for seeing three patients, each for longer periods."
Ms Roxon said the health system was organised "almost entirely around doctors - despite the fact that many services are now safely and ably provided by other health professionals".
"To ensure this transition, there needs to be an incentive for doctors to eschew less complex work, and focus on the work that does require their high level skills and expertise," she said.
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