联邦政府最新修订的医疗保健人员全国统一主持制度得到了医疗卫生界的支持.治理霍华德在3月12日表示,他已向各省及行政区领导人发信,以期在下月召开的澳大利亚政府联合会会议上取得他们的支持。

据澳新社消息，修订后的医疗保健人员全国统一注册制度规定，澳大利亚将于2008年7月前针对医生、护士、药剂师、牙医、验光师、理疗师、心理专家、骨疗专家、脊椎指压治疗专业人员这九类医疗保健专业人员，分别设立相应的全国统一专业注册评审委员会，这有别于在去年澳大利亚政府联合会制定的对九类专业人员的评审采用统一审定程序的协议。

霍华德介绍说，修改后的医护人员全国统一注册制度将方便医护人员在国内的自由流动，减少不必要的繁文章节；只要从业者在国内注了册，任何用人单位即可以聘用，另外，社区及消费者也可以知道提供服务的医护人员师全国注册了的，将提供全国一致的服务水准，无论师在布鲁姆还是在邦地地区。

澳大利亚医学会会长海柯沃勒博士表示，修改后注册制度比去年的协议进了一大步，他说这正式业内人士说希望的；因此，他呼吁各省及行政区政府支持霍华德的计划。不过，基于医疗保健专业现在均有相应的注册委员会，他认为伴随注册制度的修改，有可能产生新的官僚机构。

省级政府方面，昆省省长华亭明确表示昆省统一签署新的注册制度；纽省医疗卫生厅长的一位发言人称，纽省也支持立场，他同时强调，任何的修订必须保证病人和社区的利益不受损害。

PM wants national register of doctors

-wants-national-register-of-doctors/2007/03/12/1173548082454.html

Doctors have backed the federal government's revised plan for national registration of health professionals and urged the states to sign up to the scheme.

Prime Minister John Howard said he had written to the premiers and chief ministers seeking their support for a modified national registration scheme at next month's Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting in Canberra.

Starting in July next year(2008), there would be separate national boards responsible for registration and accreditation of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, optometrists, physiotherapists, psychologists, osteopaths and chiropractors.

The proposal differs from one agreed to at last year(2006)'s COAG meeting, under which professionals in all nine fields would have faced the same accreditation process.

Mr Howard said the revised plan would allow health professionals to move more easily between states to fill areas of demand without being held up by red tape.

"If a pharmacist or doctor needs a locum, they will be able to draw on a professional from any part of Australia as long as they are registered nationally," Mr Howard said during his visit to Japan.

"For the first time, the community will know that if they are dealing with a nationally registered health professional, the same standards will apply whether the service is being delivered in Broome or Bondi."

Australian Medical Association president Mukesh Haikerwal said the idea was a vast improvement on the previous agreement, but he had reservations about creating more bureaucracy.

"What's been proposed ... is reams better than what was on the COAG table," Dr Haikerwal said.

"It's certainly in the direction we and the other (professional) groups hoped."

He urged the states and territories to support Mr Howard's model.

But Dr Haikerwal said the plan still amounted to unnecessary bureaucracy as each medical profession already had its own registration board.

Queensland Premier Peter Beattie said his state had been responsible for putting national registration on the political whiteboard.

"We've already agreed to do it, so Queensland has already signed up," Mr Beattie said.

The NSW government said it supported national accreditation, but stressed any changes to the arrangements agreed to at last year's COAG summit needed to benefit patients.

"While important for health professionals, any change to current arrangements needs to get it right for patients and the community," a spokesman for Health Minister John Hatzistergos said.