With less than a week to go before the Federal Budget 2013, the leaks and rumours (and rumours about leaks) are increasing and speculation about possible new funding measures is mounting. The following analysis looks at the main items on the wish-lists of eight peak health groups and identifies key issues on which there is [...]
READ MOREWork in the Media? 5 Tests you must take now!
Dr Tim Senior, a GP working in Aboriginal health, provides the following advice for anyone reporting on medical tests (or indeed anyone wanting to understand the media’s reporting of screening and test issues)… “I need a prostate check and a colonoscopy” “Oh. What makes you say that?” “Well, I was listening in 2GB the other [...]
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Some important questions about health policy and the federal election (aka your #qanda cheat sheet)
Health policy is up for debate this week thanks to ABC TV’s Q and A program, featuring Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek and the Opposition’s health spokesman Peter Dutton. You can pose a question online and see some of the other questions that have already been lodged, including: Large corporate organisations have become major players in [...]
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Reduced access to GPs for low SES consumers – Canadian study
Melissa Raven from PHC RIS provides this useful summary of a Canadian study into factors influencing access to health care. The paper stops short of recommending strategies to address its finding of reduced access for people from lower socio-economic groups but Croakey boldly suggests it makes a good case for a ‘low SES’ loading for [...]
READ MOREReforming medical education: a case study (with some parallels to the Titanic)
Traditional approaches to medical education need a radical overhaul if we are to develop a sustainable health system that truly helps those with the greatest needs. But trying to turn around the “Titanic” of a hospital-centric system that encourages hierarchical specialisation is no small task. Dr Kimberley Ivory has been involved in developing a new [...]
READ MOREWhy didn’t we hear more stories like this during the PM’s visit to western Sydney?
What a missed opportunity. The intense media interest in the Prime Minister’s recent visit to western Sydney created a perfect opening for some public debate about the wide-ranging factors that contribute to the health of communities, including the importance of place (and active transport options) for health. To paraphrase this important report (which argues for more [...]
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The National Health Performance Authority’s Primary Care Report
Diane Watson, CEO of the National Health Performance Authority, outlines the key findings from the NHPA’s report into primary care and explains why independent and accurate collection and analysis of health data can empower consumers to drive changes within our health system…. Everybody is interested in health care. Individuals seek it when they need it because it [...]
READ MOREReporting on the National Medical Intern Summit (even though it was closed to the media…)
On Friday, the NSW Health Minister, Jillian Skinner, hosted a summit in Sydney to address concerns about the shortages in medical intern placements (details of the program are here). The meeting was closed to the media but – in an example of how social media is transforming the way we all work – there were plenty [...]
READ MOREFlood action shows Medicare Local’s worth
The value of Medicare Locals to the community has been shown in the response to the disastrous floods that swept Bundaberg . The Wide Bay Medicare Local took a leading role in overseeing the evacuation of 105 aged care residents, ensured their continued medication, provided staff to support stricken indigenous victims and organised the relocation [...]
READ MORESaving lives, saving money
Mark Cormack writes: Gideon Caplan’s study of “hospital in the home” services, see Croakey and the Medical Journal of Australia , is a welcome contribution to the debate around the important place of innovation in health reform. It’s a simple premise: when it is safe and appropriate, an individual needing treatment is far better to remain [...]
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