HEALTH CARE IN AUSTRALIA

Transcription

1 HEALTH CARE IN AUSTRALIA Let s start with an overview of health in Australia. According the the Australian Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Australia matches or leads most of our comparable countries from the OECD. The OECD being the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. It is imperative Australia's health care system is maintained and developed in order to continue to improve all areas of Australian's. The purpose of the Australian health care system is to provide equity to ALL Australians with facilities and services which promote healthy, and treat illness, provide, as well as caring for individuals who suffer from any illnesses, injuries or cannot live independently. RANGE AND TYPES OF HEALTH FACILITIES AND SERVICES Australian health facilities and services are categorised into 2 groups... INSTITUTIONAL FACILITIES AND SERVICES which is where you stay and have a bed AND NON-INSTITUTIONAL FACILITIES AND SERVICES which are NO STAY: that is, you just enter, receive, and exit. Let s take a look at INSTITUTIONAL FACILITIES AND SERVICES These places include hospitals and nursing homes. Hospitals: which aim to treat an individual's illness or disease and provide care. There are several types of hospitals available to Australians, including public, private and psychiatric hospitals. Hospitals are provided by the federal government and is funded through tax dollars. They are accessible by all Australians for free. Hospitals are owned and controlled by private bodies, such as individuals, companies and community organisations. Because patients must pay for their services in Private Hospitals, they are not accessible to all Australians. However, much of the cost is usually by private health insurance and some parts of the visit by medicare. Hospitals can be either public or private establishments. Due to an increase in awareness and acceptance of mental illness, it s causes and treatments, there are now less psychiatric hospitals running in our society. Healthcare for individuals with mental illnesses now focus less on INSTITUTIONALISED CARE for those suffering mental illness and more on the of hospital services and care within community settings.

2 The other available form of institutionalised care is Nursing Homes. These aim to provide term care and services for individuals who cannot independently look after themselves. The individuals can include the elderly, those suffering from a illness or people with. Just like hospitals, there are several types of nursing homes available to Australians, including; public (which are operated and funded by the state governments), non-for-profit (which are usually operated by church and community groups) and private for profit (which are usually operated by various stakeholders and run as a business to make money). The second group of facilities and services are the NON-INSTITUTIONAL FACILITIES AND SERVICES The first non-institutional service we ll look at is Medical services. There are a number of experts who provide medical services to Australians, including doctors, specialists and other healthcare professionals. The most common medical service used are Practitioners. This could be attributed to: they are easily accessible in medical centres, private surgeries and hospitals, and can usually diagnose and treat ailments (minor illness/disease) promptly or refer the patient to further consultation with a (a doctor who specialises with a certain body part or system) according to the symptoms experienced by the patient. For example, a patient experiencing severe rashes and skin irritation may be referred to a dermatologist (a doctor who specialises in the health of the skin). The next service we look at are Health-related services. These are health services that are not immediately required for an individual s life, but rather a service that aids to improve their and quality of. These can include such services as dentistry, physiotherapy, optometry, dietician, counselling and occupational therapy. And finally there is Pharmaceuticals There are a number of ways drugs can be made available to individuals, including through a doctor or hospital via a or over-the-counter medicines that are available in shops and pharmacies. RESPONSIBILITY FOR HEALTH FACILITIES AND SERVICES Within Australia, There are five groups who are responsible with providing a range of health facilities and services. These groups are: - the federal government, - the state or territory governments - local governments - private sector - AND community groups

3 The Federal Government: The federal government are responsible for the development and implementation of national health policies. They receive and control the 's dollars and distributes a portion of this to states, territories and local governments for their health expenditure. Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme are controlled by the government, as well as selected national health programs such as A Healthy and Active Australia and advocate selected programs such as the National Heart Foundation In short they do the following: - Collect taxes to fund the system - Initiate National health policies (for example. war veterans and Aboriginal care) - They guide state health policies - AND THEY Provide funds to State Governments for health care and influence their health policy making and delivering The second group is the State or Territory Government: The state and territory governments gain funding from the federal government and are expected to and control various areas of health which include public hospitals, local GP s and family health services and make programs easily accessible. Additionally, they are responsible devising state health policies and private hospitals. - Allocate money towards public hospitals - finance and control G.P s and family health services - Funding to local government - Provide Health programs - AND regulate private hospitals The third group are Local Governments: Local governments are in charge of carrying out any policies devised by their state or territory government. They are also responsible for regulating any issues such as local restaurant hygiene standard, maintaining and recreational amenities, waste disposal, and home care services such as meals on wheels. - Environmental controls - Home care facilities The Private sector that is, what my medicare card DOES NOT cover

4 The private sector are generally owned privately, funded and controlled by individuals, businesses, charities or religious organisations. However, in some instances certain private sectors may receive government funding, for example the National Foundation. They offer a variety of health services including private hospitals, private surgeries and alternative health services (such as dental,, and occupational therapy). - Provide Private hospitals - Operate Dentistries - Offer alternative health care options And finally we have Community Groups: Community groups are responsible for specific health areas raising awareness, health promotion and organising support services. Examples include Diabetes Australia and Alcoholics Anonymous. - help promote health - raise awareness - AND organise support services EQUITY AND ACCESS TO HEALTH FACILITIES AND SERVICES There are several healthcare systems across the world that are working towards the same goal of ensuring that every individual has equal access to their. In this aspect, healthcare involves the access to and related to health. The equality in access of healthcare can be considered in two perspectives: equity and equity. The first being HORIZONTAL EQUITY When the needs of two individuals are comparable, the treatment provided should be equal. Consider the case of Medicare, Australia s national public health insurance, where all residents of Australia are equally able to access basic healthcare. Medicare is funded by taxpayers and allows any person to bulkbill their doctors to receive medical care. The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, also known as PBS, is another initiative taken up by the Government of Australia where medicine will be available to all the citizens at more affordable prices. The other perspective is VERTICAL EQUITY This relates to the precedent treatment of the demographics who are in high need of healthcare but are unable or have less access to healthcare facilities. Examples of these demographic groups include Aboriginal and Torres Strait individuals and people experiencing language and cultural barriers (migrants, refugees). These are often allocated in relation to the social justice principles.

5 Both the horizontal equity and vertical equity are of high importance within any healthcare system. However, compared to horizontal equity, implementing vertical equity can be a tedious task. It encounters several difficulties in prioritizing these groups, including geography,, and issues. For some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, mainstream health facilities and services are not easily accessible, nor are they always appropriate. For these reasons the Australian governments must use equity to SPECIFICALLY TARGET their healthcare needs. Federal and state governments fund specific health facilities and services to ensure equal of health is achieved by and Torres Strait Islanders. Such services include treatment and management of chronic health illnesses, health promotion, transport to and from services, strategies and help accessing other facilities and services.