Family doctors seek right to order thyroid, prostate and diabetes tests

Family doctors are calling on the government to give them the possibility to order three important tests that would avoid them having to send patients to hospital, delaying treatment.

The Association of Private Family Doctors believes GPs should be allowed to order hospital tests for thyroid, prostate or diabetes directly for their patients.

Right now, private GPs cannot simply send a patient to hospital for a test. Instead, patients have to see a consultant in hospital, who will then decide whether or not to order a test, unless the patients opt to do such tests privately and pay for them.

"If I have a suspicion that a young woman suffers from thyroid problems, I have to send her to hospital to be seen by a consultant, who will then order the test," association president Anthony Azzopardi said.

With the present system, six months could pass before patients received test results and started treating the condition, he said.

A man who needs his prostate checked is in for a longer wait, with the association saying it takes on average 11 months for an appointment with an urologist.

Although the association is all for a reform in primary health care, it feels one does not have to wait for the full reform to occur before family doctors are in a position to order such tests.

"The reform will take some time to be introduced and, in the meantime, patients are suffering," Victor Ceci said.

Earlier this year, the government said a consultation process on primary health care was due to kick off soon. Health Parliamentary Secretary Joe Cassar had said the planned revamp would focus on equity, accessibility, efficiency, accountability and sustainability.

Dr Azzopardi and Dr Ceci said not only did it take longer for patients to get their results but the system in place even added to hospital waiting lists. They said patients would be waiting to see a consultant when the same test could well have been ordered by their family doctor.

A spokesman for the Health Parliamentary Secretariat said the government intended to consider giving doctors the possibility to directly order certain tests, including the ones mentioned by the association. However, the ideal remained that these should form part of a whole package that family doctors could offer the patient directly through the primary care reform.