Dr Peter Sumich
Organisation: Australian Society of Ophthalmologists, vice president
Area of interest: Ophthalmology
The pressing issues in ophthalmology are the public hospital waiting lists, the aggressive tactics of health insurers and inflationary pressures on costs.
As we watch GPs come to their moment of reckoning with bulk billing, it becomes apparent that private billing is the only logical way forward. Ophthalmology reached this point over 20 years ago. Optometry will remain conflicted here as retail tends to dominate the business model.
The Medical Costs Finder website is launching in April and this will shake up the surgical space when fees become public. Expect to see a few practices champion their discount basement model whilst the majority continue business as normal trading on reputation, service and quality.
