Medical colleges launch ethical billing and fee transparency framework
ANZCA joined 15 other medical colleges to develop a new statement released today by the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges that emphasises ethical billing, fee transparency and informed financial consent.
The Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (CPMC) launched its National Professionalism Framework on ethical billing and fee transparency at Parliament House in Canberra today.
ANZCA President Professor Dave Story and ANZCA CEO Lance Emerson attended the launch of the framework statement by CPMC Chair Associate Professor Kerin Fielding and the Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Assistant Minister for Indigenous Health, Rebecca White MP.
The framework establishes shared expectations for ethical billing, fee transparency, and informed financial consent – reinforcing the medical profession’s commitment to patient-centred care.
It sets out clear principles: plain-language disclosure of all costs; genuine informed financial consent as a prerequisite to treatment; and compassionate billing that accounts for patients' circumstances.
It also establishes an explicit expectation that specialists consistently uphold these principles in their practice.
