Health reform being held hostage by its masters

Macdonald spoke to the inaugural group of graduates last month, emphasising that most are vocationally doctors who struggle with the application of administrative or political skills. "It's like going from soccer to rugby," the politician said.

While doctors have the advantage of exposure to human suffering and social problems, most lack finance or executive experience, a major obstacle to increasing their contributions to big-picture decision-making.

In the US, a Gallup poll this year showed the public prefers the opinions of doctors about health policy; almost three-quarters said they trust doctors most when it comes to health-care reform. I assume Australians feel the same way.

Doctors have always been players in activism and politics, from the modern symbol of revolutionary activism, Che Guevara, to the less revolutionary Brendan Nelson.

But the nature of medical practice, a broad culture of suspicion towards management combined with the vagaries of major party preselection are conspiring to sideline the crucial involvement of doctors in decision-making. This is to the detriment of all.