MEDICARE should be restructured so patients can see registered nurses at GP clinics instead of doctors for certain consultations to help relieve the chronic workforce shortage, an Australian National University study has concluded.The study says Australia is suffering a “crisis in manpower” of general practice doctors until at least 2012. The authors say the crisis will only worsen with the rise in chronic diseases and the increasing number of women in the medical workforce.The lead author, Associate Professor Jill Thistlethwaite, who is also a GP at Sydney University, said practice nurses should be given more autonomy to see patients for minor illnesses, conduct health checks for patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, do follow-up vaccinations and give advice on healthy lifestyles. Read more