If we want people with complex care needs to prioritise their health, cutting patient fees, providing flexible hours and paying attention to their social circumstances would be a good start.
How can we get better primary health care access, quality and affordability that Labor has promised? We need to learn from what’s worked and failed overseas.
Verna Smith, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
By borrowing from the British NHS system of working closely with general practitioners, this radical shake-up of New Zealand’s health system can greatly improve primary healthcare.
Having treatment at home is more convenient for patients.
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Patients often want the option to be treated at home rather than being admitted to hospital. But it’s much less likely to happen if you’re a private patient.
The number of Medicare claims Australians make in a year doubled between 1984 and 2018.
By Sopotnick
Jane Hall, University of Technology Sydney and Kees Van Gool, University of Technology Sydney
Paying doctors a fee for each service they provide isn’t delivering optimal value for the health dollar. Instead, we should pay doctors a lump sum to care for a patient’s medical problem over time.
Premium subsidies encourage Australians to take out and keep private health insurance.
Subsidies for private health insurance premiums cost the government over A$6 billion a year. Is it time to scrap the rebate and redirect these funds elsewhere in the health system?
The five yearly negotiations have long generated controversy and angst.
Jair Lázaro
Jane Hall, University of Technology Sydney and Rosalie Viney, University of Technology Sydney
Public hospitals in Australia are owned and operated by state (and territory) governments. So why does the Commonwealth government attract blame for lack of hospital funding?
Headlines pointed to the privatisation of hospital, end-of-life and dental services, but the Productivity Commission’s report is actually a lot less radical.
Countries such as China struggle to cope with patients who have multiple chronic conditions.
David Gray/Reuters
Shadow minister for health and medicare Catherine King said under this government, average out-of-pocket costs for GP visits are up by almost 20%. Is that true?
Whose interests are being protected when hospital data isn’t released?
from shutterstock.com
The Victorian government should follow the UK’s example and provide performance data about individual clinicians to help avoid tragedies such as deaths of babies at Bacchus Marsh Hospital.
Doctors are learning new ways to help patients.
From www.shuttertock.com
As health care providers seek ways to improve care and cut costs, providers and insurance companies have teamed up. A program in Michigan where providers share notes in real time appears to work.
Health care costs and rates of chronic disease are rising.
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For real reform to Medicare’s fee-for-service payments model, we need to look for more innovative solutions to how we pay for health care. These can be found in an unlikely place: the United States.
Some regions have had rates of preventable hospital admissions 50% above the state average for more than a decade.
Marcos Mesa Sam Wordley/Shutterstock
People ending up in hospital for diabetes, tooth decay, or other conditions that should be treatable or manageable out of hospital is a warning sign of system failure.
This approach will help concentrate efforts on evidence and value rather than ideologically based, slash-and-burn approaches.
AAP Image/Fairfax Media Pool/Andrew Meares
The government must do more to deliver a 21st-century health system – not just to improve its standing with voters but to meet the health needs of all Australians.
The debate about ageing needs to move away from claiming the sky will fall in because of the ageing of the population.
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Health policy was an important factor in the election outcome, but one of the most important issues in the health sector – the impact of out-of-pocket costs – was mostly ignored.
Health is the most important election issue for Australians aged over 50.
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Health is always a key factor in deciding which way to vote. So what have the major parties promised in health? And what could these changes mean for consumers?
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne