Otago academics call for debate on GP salaries and free services

New Zealand’s government should explore the “radical” idea of paying doctors a salary and abolishing patient fees to create a more socially equitable health system, a group of five University of Otago academics has said.

The group has called for a debate on the benefits of free GP services to be part of the government’s national review of healthcare services.

In an editorial published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, the Otago academics suggest that “a completely new model is needed” to put GPs on an equal footing with free medical clinics at public hospitals.