Hero to zero

Hero to zero

Once lauded as protagonists during the pandemic, recent media reports paint a poor picture of the profession. Has public opinion of doctors shifted?

REMEMBER THE 7pm cheer? People in cities around the world would stand on their balconies clapping, yelling, blowing horns, and banging pots and pans – a sonic salute to the men and women saving lives while risking their own as they worked on the frontlines of healthcare.

If the medical profession had a popularity meter, that might have been the peak.

Two years on, after borders re-opened, case numbers dropped, and self-isolation rules were scrapped, public sentiment appears to have changed. By October 2022, the once saints were now sinners.

For weeks, stories emerged of doctors defrauding the system. Dr Margaret Faux claimed her PhD into Medicare billing uncovered rorting to the tune of $8bn – an allegation that was immediately rejected by the AMA and later refuted by senior health officials before a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra a month later. 

Health officials highlighted that while the PhD examined potential non-compliance, it was of a much smaller estimate, and was attributed to issues such as complex Medicare requirements.

“So, the narrative in the media is quite different to what is actually in the PhD, Senator,” said a senior official in response to questions by opposition health spokeswoman Senator Anne Ruston.

But the damage was done – not only in the minds of patients, but also to practitioners. 

Senator Ruston told the inquiry she had heard the media allegations had a “significant impact” on medical practitioners, especially general practitioners, and the Department committed to investigating this issue further and reporting back to the Committee.

Meanwhile AMA President Professor Stephen Robson acknowledged, “this trial by media has led to increased doctor distress at a time when the profession is under continued pressure. What has been completely overlooked is the incredible amount of unpaid work doctors do due to the underfunding of Medicare, and the immense benefit this goodwill provides to the community and the health system.”

And then came the attacks from within the health profession. The Health Services Union launched a campaign calling for a Royal Commission into the NSW Health Budget and featured ads depicting a doctor pocketing wads of cash and driving away in an expensive car. 

AMA (NSW) President, Dr Michael Bonning responded publicly to the attacks calling the HSU’s insinuation that doctors are getting rich while patients suffer as “disgusting and unjust.”

“The campaign undermines public confidence in all health services by attacking doctors and questioning their commitment to patient care,” he said.

“Healthcare professionals should be on the same team – not fighting for scraps from the Government. This outrageous campaign pits healthcare workers against each other and does more harm than good.

“We fully support all frontline workers in their campaign to receive a fair wage, but these tactics are completely disingenuous.”

While media beat-ups and so-called ‘greedy doctors’ stories do surface occasionally, the timing of these attacks left many medical professionals feeling particularly wounded.

After the sacrifices many health professionals made during COVID, “it was like a slap in the face,” said Dr Rajiv Rattan, a radiologist who has been working in health for almost three decades.

He added, “The currency of healthcare is trust – reports like this erode that significantly.”

Dr Jill Gordon, who co-authored the article “Doctors on Status and Respect: A Qualitative Study” was less worried by the recent reports and pointed out that surveys continue to find health professionals rate “at the top of the tree for respect from the public.”

The Governance Institute of Australia published its Ethics Index 2022 in November and did find the health sector was rated among the ‘most ethical’.

Governance Institute CEO Megan Motto stated that in the Ethics Index 2022, ‘Your doctor’ (GP) scored 70, tied for first place with pharmacists for the most ethical profession in Australia, but noted that public trust in GPs has dropped 9 points since 2020.

The Governance Institute also found 2022 results show a downward trend in trust overall. 

“The softening in ethical scores since the beginning of the pandemic is consistent with a decline in ethical perceptions across all sectors (except charities) and is indicative of a change in mood in our society, as we look beyond COVID-19 and concentrate on other challenges facing our society,” Ms Motto said.

GPs’ ethics scores may have dipped in the years since 2020; however, the occupation consistently ranks in the top five, revealing Australians feel GPs behave ethically, particularly their own.

This ethics perception is mirrored across the health sector. Findings from The Ethics Index 2022 revealed the health sector has the smallest gap (11 points) between the perceived importance of ethical behaviour (76) and their actual ethical behaviour (65) scores. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic – and the highly ethical responses of frontline workers and society at large – raised our ethical perceptions, but as the COVID-19 pandemic dragged on and fatigue set in, these perceptions in society began to slide,” Ms Motto said.

A BMJ study from 2002 reflects the idea that respect for doctors does dip on the back of negative publicity, but it’s likely to rebound.

It cited annual polls on ‘most respected professions’ and found doctors’ ratings dropped in Australia three percentage points in 2000 from the previous year and rebounded again the following survey. These findings were generally in line with similar studies in other countries. 

In Dr Gordon’s opinion, the recent attacks were unlikely to deter people from choosing medicine as a career or force some out of the profession.

“There are far more powerful factors, such as the poor remuneration for GPs and the unnecessary complexities of Medicare.”

On that front, the AMA has long advocated for changes to Medicare and is continuing its Modernise Medicare campaign, which calls on Government to address the urgent need for reform and investment in Australia’s general practices. The plan is focused on ‘more care,’ ‘more time’ and ‘more health.’

We hope this resonates with Government and just as importantly with patients – ultimately leading to ‘more trust.’