Reema Rattan writes: While the federal election is still months away, issues of health funding are already dominating the news. A Grattan Institute report released yesterday, for instance, noted the greatest budgetary pressure facing Australia comes from sustained increases in health costs. Last night, ABC TV’s Q&A featured Health Minister Tanya Plibersek and Shadow Health [...]
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HEALTH REFORM
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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Recommended reading on the history of primary care reform (and what can be learnt from it)
There is some essential new reading for those concerned with primary care and related reforms, according to health policy analyst Jennifer Doggett. In the article below, she reviews Primary Care and General Practice in Australia 1990-2012: A Chronology of Federal Government Strategies, Policies, Programs and Funding, by Dr Lesley Russell from the Australian Primary Health [...]
READ MOREConsumer group calls for a “fundamental shift” in how pharmacy services are funded
Important questions about the governance of the multi-billion dollar agreement between the Federal Government and Pharmacy Guild of Australia (representing pharmacy owners) are raised in the article below. Carol Bennett, CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, argues that the Fifth Community Pharmacy Agreement - a $15.4 billion investment by taxpayers over five years – fails to meet [...]
READ MORECuts to community-based health services short-sighted
In December last year Professor Fran Baum wrote New SA report shows why governments are failing to control health spending for this blog in response to the McCann Review of Non-Hospital Based Services. In that article Professor Baum lamented the lack of understanding of community services and primary health care that leads to questionable funding decisions. [...]
READ MOREMedi-muddle: hospital funding fight is resolved but the blame game goes on
Stephen Duckett writes: After months of battle between the Commonwealth and Victorian governments on hospital funding, Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek dramatically intervened last Wednesday by announcing a A$107 million “rescue package” which would go directly to Victorian public hospitals. Why did she do so, and what does it mean for health politics? First, some [...]
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 MOREIs the blame game an incurable blight upon Australian health care?
If every system is perfectly designed to produce the outcomes it gets, then it’s clear that our “health system” (of course there’s no such thing) does an excellent job at producing a perpetual blame game. National health reform has failed to stop the unending fights between federal and state/territory governments – and patients are paying [...]
READ MOREForget the blame game, let’s focus on making health dollars go further
Anthony Scott writes: The latest round of the health blame game is in full swing, with service cuts to Victorian hospitals, and neither the state nor federal government taking responsibility. Commonwealth and Victorian health ministers Tanya Plibersek and David Davis met in Canberra on Wednesday for more talks, but were unable to come to a [...]
READ MOREFrom nurse prescribing to an Australian experiment: some recent news in primary health care
There is an international trend towards nurses having a greater role in prescribing of medicines, And The evolution of primary health care organisations in Australia. These issues are explored in the latest articles profiled by the Primary Health Care Research & Information Service. *** Expanding role of nurses improves patients’ access to medicines Melissa Raven writes: [...]
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