ABC health commentator Norman Swan has kept his medical licence for 40 years without seeing patients as a practising doctor, simply by appearing in the media

ABC health commentator Norman Swan has kept his medical licence for 40 years without seeing patients as a practising doctor, simply by appearing in the media.

Dr Swan received his medical degree in 1976 in Scotland but joined the ABC in 1982 after moving to Australia and has been there ever since.

The qualified paediatrician came under fire this week for suggesting the fatal heart attacks of cricket legend and Labor senator Kimberley Kitching, both 52, were likely Covid-related. 

Dr Swan told Daily Mail Australia it was ‘too much of a coincidence’ they both died after recent Covid infections, but was forced to apologise when Senator Kitching’s furious family told him she never contracted the virus. 

Questions have since been raised about how he fulfils stringent medical registration requirements while working as a journalist, but his licence is up to date — purely because of his work in the media.

Medical practitioners must renew their registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency every year and practise medicine for either 152 hours in the previous year or 456 hours over three years.

Typically this would be time seeing patients, doing research, or administering a medical facility, but what counts as ‘practice’ is more broad.

AHPRA defines ‘practice’ as ‘any role, whether remunerated or not, in which the individual uses their skills and knowledge as a health practitioner in their profession’.

‘For the purposes of the board’s standards, practice is not restricted to the provision of direct clinical care,’ the medical board’s regulations state.

‘It also includes using professional knowledge in a direct non-clinical relationship with clients, working in management, administration, education, research, advisory, regulatory or policy development roles, and any other roles that impact on safe, effective delivery of services in the profession.’

AHPRA noted the definition ‘was intended to be broad and inclusive’ to include a variety of ways registration could be maintained.

‘It allows individuals with qualifications as a health practitioner to be registered if they are using their skills and knowledge as a health practitioner, regardless of whether they are providing direct patient care,’ it said.

‘Registered health practitioners can use the protected title related to their profession and must comply with their National Board’s approved registration standards.’

The AHPRA medical board confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that Dr Swan’s work on the ABC and in other media would satisfy the requirements.

Some doctors critical of Dr Swan believe he should instead have a ‘non-practicing registration’.

This allows practitioners to maintain their registration and medical titles for a lower fee, but they are not allowed to treat patients or give advice in a clinical setting.

‘Gee it makes the blood boil!’ one said about him.

<div class="art-ins mol-factbox floatRHS news" data-version="2" id="mol-cdfbe150-6640-11ed-a994-2b1192f0f1a3" website Norman Swan gets to call himself a &apos;doctor&apos;