Price in health care is a squishy concept. Different words relating to cost – charge, price and out-of-pocket cost – all have different meanings.
A snapshot of 2015: health reviews, Health Check series, thalidomide series, Medicare versus private health insurance.
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This was the year of the health review – mental health care, Medicare, private health insurance, the pharmacy industry … and the list goes on. But how much movement was there on policy?
Pressure point. Smarter GP surgeries can lighten the burden on the rest of the NHS.
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Chronic diseases are responsible for nine out of ten deaths in Australia, and for much of the public health expenditure that’s causing governments so much concern.
Overdoing it? Pills and thrills and bellyaches.
Jessica Lucia
When one in six hospitalisations of older patients are due to harm from their medicines, then something is going seriously wrong.
The government has acknowledged that just sending people off for a set number of psychology sessions is an inadequate response, particularly for people with more complex conditions.
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The reforms announced today have the potential to change this appalling situation. But ultimately they should be judged on the outcomes they achieve for patients.
Chronic pain is a complex health issue.
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Pain management is one of the most neglected aspects of health care; our failure to adequately address chronic pain is a major driver of its economic and social burden.
The scheme would be mandatory but consumers would be able to choose their preferred provider.
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Current incentives used to recruit more teachers to work in rural and regional schools aren’t working. But could the health sector offer up some possible solutions?
Health Minister Sussan Ley wants people to be able to access their medical data using an app.
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Although there are significant challenges to making data within My Health Record useful in the management of a person’s health, the move to make it more open is positive.
Australia’s century-old federation is under strain.
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If Australia’s new prime minister wishes to lead a successful 21st-century government, he must tackle the rise in chronic disease and use data to constantly improve the system.
A new approach should include social supports, such as living skills and assistance obtaining housing and employment.
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On closing the asylums, Australia failed to invest in an alternative model of community mental health care. So there are few alternatives between the GP surgery and the hospital emergency department.
Ineffective care exposes patients to complications and side-effects and waste precious health care resources.
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State and territory leaders will meet in Sydney today to nut out solutions to health and education funding gaps. But what exactly is the problem they’re hoping to address?
Gagging clauses in contracts permit purchasers of research to modify, substantially delay, or prohibit the reporting of findings.
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Government departments often commission research to help them understand and respond to policy issues. But they impose contract conditions that threaten to undermine the integrity of the work.
Public hospital funding is in a critical condition.
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Any health reform proposals should start by addressing public hospitals and chronic care. But successful change in these areas requires getting the state-Commonwealth funding and incentives right.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne