The future of regionally based bulk-billing medical services is at risk following the financial collapse of the Tristar Medical Group chain.
The news comes as many regional centres grapple with major doctor shortages, community COVID-19 transmission and surging influenza cases.
Tristar, which has been placed into voluntary administration, has a string of clinics across regional Australia, including Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia.
The group has been under significant financial stress since at least 2017, with multiple creditors unpaid.
McGrath Nicol partner Matthew Caddy, who has been appointed as the administrator of Tristar Medical Group, said clinics would continue to operate while the group was wound up or purchased.
"This would enable myself as administrator to seek to find a buyer for the business and enable the clinics to stay open in the meantime, whilst we reviewed the financial situation and sought interest from other parties."
Mr Caddy said it was unclear which clinics would shut and which would remain open.
"It's not certain that all clinics will stay open … if there's no buyer for the business, then ultimately it's probable that the clinics will close."
Warning bells
Rural Doctors' Association of South Australia president Dr Peter Rischbieth has questioned the sustainability of Tristar's bulk-billing business model.
He said operators needed to rethink how they did business, with practices needing to implement gap payments to remain viable.
"But bulk-billing every patient means there's often some very challenging financial problems that may mean that staff can't get paid and businesses aren't viable, which is what's happened with Tristar.
"But it does provide an example of how challenging it is to recruit doctors and nurses and allied health to many rural areas and to have the right type of business models to make those businesses — not only providing that service — but actually remain financially viable."
