The health system: what should our priorities be? (original) (raw)
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This article seeks to review the Australian healthcare system and compare it to similar systems in other countries to highlight the main issues and problems. A literature search for articles relating to the Australian and other developed countries' healthcare systems was conducted by using Google and the library of Victoria University, Melbourne. Data from the websites of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Australian Productivity Commission, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Bank have also been used. Although care within the Australian healthcare system is among the best in the world, there is a need to change the paradigm currently being used to measure the outcomes and allocate resources. The Australian healthcare system is potentially dealing with two main problems: (a) resource allocation, and (b) performance and patient outcomes improvements. An interdisciplinary research approach in the ...
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Health service funding mechanisms are pivotal in the pursuit of health system objectives, as they provide strong financial incentives for actors in the system to achieve policy goals. Underpinning funding mechanisms is a set of key economic principles, or objectives, that should guide their design and use: efficiency, equity, and accountability. The Australian health system has historically performed relatively poorly in relation to these objectives, with evidence of inefficiencies, inequities, and poor accountability in many areas of health services. The primary cause of these shortcomings may lie in the complex set of funding and delivery arrangements at the State and Federal levels of government. Potentially significant improvements in the performance of the health system would be available from the integration of the funding of services within a single tier of government, coupled with the development of a national weighted capitation approach to funding. To develop a national capitation funding model a number of unique factors require consideration, including the current fragmentation of services, the role of the private sector, the needs of indigenous populations, and the effects of rurality. The data available to develop a capitation model is of a level of detail and quality not readily found elsewhere. If policy statements promoting efficiency, accountability, and particularly equity are to be actively pursued, a national capitation model, based on robust methods should become a cornerstone of Australian health system reform.
A new funding model for a chronic-care focused healthcare system in Australia
Health Policy and Technology, 2018
Objectives: Significant increases in health expenditures have been a global trend and constitute a major concern in Australia and other countries for healthcare providers, payers, policymakers, consumers and population. This trend is largely attributable to emerging healthcare technologies, aging populations, and the impact of noncommunicable diseases and chronic conditions on the burden of disease. In this paper, we look at how the Australian health system is responding to this challenge. Methods: We analyze the main drivers of health expenditure with particular focus on chronic care and integrated care and provide an assessment of the most important problems. Results: The key challenge for Australia is how to reorient and rearrange current health funding and service organization through better design with a specific focus on long-term care and chronic care, prevention and early intervention in the search for efficiency in social and economic impacts and costs. We propose that this is most efficiently achieved through a publicly-funded health insurance model focused on chronic health conditions that we name Mandatory Integrated (Public and Private) Health Insurance (MIPPHI). MIPPHI meets the essential foundational components in terms of competitiveness, efficiency, and affordability. Conclusion: We articulate our proposal for a systematic health funding reform in 22 policy actions that, we argue, would improve the sustainability of the Australian health system while preserving its universal character for a more comprehensive basket of chronic and social services.
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Australian Journal of Primary Health, 2003
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Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2010
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Book Review: The Australian health care system
Australian Health Review, 2008
THIS IS THE THIRD edition of one of the seminal local texts on the Australian health care system. Over the last seven years, this text has proved a basis for helping students, casual readers and health professionals understand Australia?s sometimes difficult to understand health care system. The text is divided into ten chapters that deal with key aspects of Australia?s health care system, namely: � Frameworks for analysis � The Australian population and its health � Financing health care � The health workforce � Departmental and intergovernmental structures � Hospitals � Public health � Primary and community care � Pharmaceuticals � Policy challenges for the Australian health care system. There are several key reasons why this text has been widely used in the past and will continue to be of value well into the future. The author has been able to accurately describe the complexities of the Australian health care system in an easily digestible way. This is a feat in itself and worthy...