Overview Of The Australian Healthcare System

The Australian Health Care System

Structure and Governance of the Healthcare System

Discuss about the Australian Health Care System.

This report discusses the health care system of Australia. The Australian health care system is one of the most renowned and efficient health care systems globally. The report discusses the structure, governance, and functions of the healthcare system in Australia. The report analyzes the services, institutions and organizational arrangements concerned primarily with the treatment and care of the people who are ill. It is at times referred to as the “illness care system”. The primary objective of any health care system is to undertake activities designed to promote efficient and effective health care services to citizens. It is referred to as a system because it involves a variety of entities and activities that need to work together in order to achieve the overall objective.The Australian health care system is a product of economic, social, technological, legal and economic factors which are involved in providing health care services to citizens. The Australian Healthcare system has been influenced by the British system. An example is the voluntary health insurance arrangement introduced in 1953. The Canadian model of universal taxation funded health insurance formed the core of the Medibank scheme. The Australian system of health care has borrowed its design from other countries such as USA and China. The sources of funding for the Australian Healthcare system include federal government funding, state funding, insurance funding and community funded health care. More than 64% of Australian health care system funding comes from the Commonwealth . The function of the Australian health care system is to offer medical and primary health care services to citizens. The report also discusses the factors that have influenced the design and functions of the Australian Healthcare system. The report also discusses the current key issues confronting the system and the ways in which these issues can be resolved.

description of the system structure

The Australian Healthcare system is designed to provide universal access to a comprehensive range of health services. The Australian Healthcare is largely publicly funded through general taxation. Australia has a federal system of government with a common health government and state governments. There are six states in Australia with all of them playing a role in Australian health care system.The private sectors also play a critical role in providing health care services in Australia. The government provides subsidies to the private health insurance. These cover both inpatient treatment and outpatient services. In Australia, public hospitals are owned and operated by the State and Territory Governments. These institutions offer a wide range of health services such as mental health care, dental health, school health and community health programs( Behan & Project Muse, 2006). The public hospitals in Australia offer free health services to the public patients. More than 89% of Australians depend on public hospitals for health care(Haseltine& Brookings Institution, 2013). The hospitals offer the patients high-quality services and that explains why most of the patients prefer getting health services from the public health facilities.Medicare provides Australians to free medical treatment and accommodation in public hospitals and also overseas visitors from countries with reciprocal arrangements.Patients can also prefer private health Insurance and get some funding to cover the costs of care of health care in private hospitals. The Australian Healthcare system also consists of community healthcare facilities. These facilities are formed by Non Governmental organizations with the objective of providing health care to the community around where the facility is located (Lin, Smith, Fawkes, Robinson & Gifford, 2014). The institutions provide primary care services, palliative care and even care for the aged. The community health care institutions offer advice to the community and they help in improving healthcare standards in the community( Khadra, 2011).

Sources of Funding for the Healthcare System

Governance of Australian health care system is very crucial since it determines the efficiency and effectiveness of health care system. The health care system in Australia is headed by the Minister of Health. The minister of health is in charge of the administration of the ministry and is also the chief accounting officer for the ministry. The ministry is also in charge of health policy. The ministry designs programs and policies geared towards achieving more efficient health services in Australia.The Department of Health provides policy advice to the minister of health about health Insurance issues. Under the Abbot Government, the Medicare program is administered by Medicare Australia as part of the portfolio of the Department of Human Services. The department of health is the overall in charge of Medicare policy.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare(AIHW) is responsible for the collection of health-related statistics and undertakes research into health status and effectiveness of health technology ( Funnell, Koutoukidis& Lawrence, 2009). The Department of Veteran Affairs funds treatment of medical personnel, public and private hospitals and allied providers of health services.

The state government provides funding and statutory regulations for public hospitals. At the state level, the health departments are in control of health services. They are referred differently in different states. For example in New South Wales, it is referred to as the Ministry of health while in Queensland, it is referred to as the Department of Health.  Under these authorities, there are various planning and policy units which design, develop and formulate health policies for each particular state depending on its individual needs.

The Australian health care system has various functions. One of the major functions of the system is to provide Hospital and aged care services. The hospital care includes acute care in public and private hospitals. The main function of the health system of Australian is to provide medical services for both inpatient and outpatient. The hospital services include testing for various diseases and offering medication to the sick. This is very crucial to help deal with a common sickness that needs medical attention. They also provide nursing services to patients. In addition to this, the system also offers aged care facilities. These offer health services for long-stay critically ill patients most of who are of older age groups.

Another function of Australian Health Care system is to offer personal health services. These are services offered out of institutions in various other settings. The personal health services are offered by specialist private practice professionals. Some of these include Dentists, optometrists, physiotherapists, and psychologists.

Functions of the Healthcare System

The health care system is also responsible for providing medication to patients. These include prescription drugs that are subsidized by the Australian Government under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme as well as the medications that are not included in the PBS.

The health care system in Australia also provides public health and community health services. Public health refers to the activities that are focused on communities and other groups and not individuals. The public health services include; health education, health promotion, disease prevention and immunization (OECD Publishing,2010). Community health services include non-residential services offered to patients in the setting of a community. They are offered by both the government and voluntary organizations. Some of these services include Well-baby clinics, family planning, and mental health services.

The design and functions of the Australian Health Care system are influenced by a variety of factors. These factors are both economic, social and political. The combination of these factors determine how the health care system should be designed and the policies that govern the health system (Fleming & Parker, 2009). The basic objective of any health services should be the maintenance and improvement of quality health services to the population. One of the factors that influence the design of a health system is the structure of governance. The governance system in Australia is designed by the federal government and the state governments. When designing the health system, it is important to consider the units of administration in order to ensure that services are efficient. The design of the system has to consider the division of roles between the federal government and the state government. In the Australian health system, both the state government and the federal government play an important role in the provision of health care to citizens. The federal government finances health care in Australia. The ministry of health designs health policies that are important in achieving quality health care (Weitz, 2017). The structure of the government is also crucial in determining the design of the health care system since most of the health functions are devolved to the state governments and they play a major role in the provision of healthcare.

The other factor that influences the design and functions of the Australian health services system is the objective of the system. The aim and objective of establishing the health system are important in determining design and function because it determines the important structures and organs that need to be put in place in order to achieve this objective. The objective of the Australian Government is to offer affordable and quality health services to all citizens. This explains why the government has put up Medicare Insurance to help offer health Insurance to citizens. The government also funds the construction of health facilities. This is done with the aim of ensuring that all citizens can easily access health services without having to travel for long.

Key Issues Confronting the System

Health research statistics also play a crucial role in determining design and functions of the health system. The government conducts regular research to collect important data about various health issues that are important to the government. The information from these research provides important insights that inform the design and the functions of the health care system. An example of this is the community and public health function which is performed by community health centers and other hospitals. The research can reveal a loophole in the design of the health care system or in the functions of some organs of the system. This can help in implementing changes to help seal off the loopholes. Constant changes are done on the design and the functions of the health care system in order to ensure that the system becomes as efficient as possible.

The health needs of the population at any given time also influence the needs of the population. There are various health needs at any particular period of time and this plays a very big role in influencing the design of the system (Perkins, 2016). The health needs of the people influence the demand for health services. This demand helps in determining which institutions offer which service and the new medications and services that need to be introduced.

The state of the economy also influences the design of health systems. Different health systems are implemented at different costs. Some systems are more costly to implement than others and this, therefore, means economic factors play a big role in determining the design of the health system. The Australian health care system is very costly since the government funds a big proportion of the health Insurance through the Medicare program. There are some countries which cannot afford to fund the health system like that of Australia because of the poor state of the economy. A complex health care system that involves two levels of Government and various other institutions and organizations is costly and this reciprocates in its quality.

The parliament of Australia designs the laws and policies that govern health care in Australia. The parliament creates statutory bodies which are mandated with various roles that play a part in the provision of health services. Some of the statutory bodies created by the parliament include Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme(PBS) and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme(RPBS)( Cashin, Chi, and Smith, 2014). The state governments also play a role in determining the design of the healthcare systems. The state governments also design legislation that influences the design and the functions of the health systems in the respective states. The states the develop a health system that fits its specific needs and its financial capabilities.

The population of the country or state also determines the design of a health system. In order to achieve effective health care, the system needs to consider the number of people being served by the system. This is important in the allocation of financial resources as well as employment and deployment of medical professionals.

Australia healthcare system is institutional and its centered around universal access principle. This means that the residents are assured of subsidized treatment from various healthcare professionals. The healthcare system of Australia is complex in structure especially when it comes to issues to do with funding and sharing of roles and responsibilities between the federal government and the state governments (Johnston, 2017). The healthcare system in Australia has been very effective in providing health care services of high quality. However, there are various challenges that face the system and they need to be addressed in order to make the system better. These key issues are discussed as follows;

The demographics of the Australian population are changing at a very fast rate. The population of old people has increased sharply over the last few decades. Increase in the aging population presents a new challenge for the government. This is because providing for the health needs of older people is more complex and requires more resources as compared to providing health care for a young population. In the year 2013,15% of the population was aged 65 years and above(Güdük, 2018). The government projects that by the year 2053 more than 21% of the population will be aged above 65 years(Güdük, 2018). The tightening budgets and the increasing costs of healthcare mean that it will be more challenging to provide quality healthcare in future.The government of Australia has avoided making changes to the Medicare system which is publicly funded for fear of becoming unpopular with voters.

Technological innovations in the healthcare industry have made life better. The various technologies in medicine have improved health services in terms of diagnosis and management of complicated disease conditions. The medical technology is however very expensive and it has become one of the biggest expenditure in the health department.  This imposes critical budgetary constraints in improving the healthcare of Australians. It has become difficult for private health care providers to acquire the new technology due to the huge costs involved (Willis, Reynolds &Keleher, 2012). This has deprived patients of the much-needed services and care they could have gotten if the technology was cheaper.

The fact that the health care system is funded by both private and public brings about come complexities which makes provision of health care services inefficient. This is because the government is not able to plan appropriately since there is private funded health care. According to government records, 30% of expenditure on medical services is derived from the private sector( Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012). The government should, therefore, consider making the health care system privately funded completely with only a few subsidies provided. This will go a long way in helping to increase efficiency in service provision.

Australia healthcare system lacks a fundamental structure required to integrate national health and medical research. Due to this reason, despite the many breakthroughs in medical research, they have not been implemented to help improve health service delivery in Australia (Heiden & Phipps, 2013). The government funding of Medical research is also inadequate. This limits the potential of the medical research in the country and hence the desired changes in the healthcare sector have not been achieved.

There are issues of discrimination against various groups when it comes to access to health care in Australia.This is evidenced by the fact that national statistics indicate that health care among the minority groups is low compared to the national average. For example among the indigenous population, the life expectancy is approximately 70 years  (Australian Centre for Health Research, 2011). This is very low compared to the average of 84 years among the rest of the population (Australian Centre for Health Research, 2011). Disease breakouts among the indigenous communities are higher and more common compared to other areas. The issue of minority communities not being able to access health services as compared to the rest of Australians is very critical and it needs to be addressed in order to good health for all. Research also indicates that people living in the outer regions and remote areas are four times more likely to travel more than an hour to access medical services as compared to those in towns. Healthcare provision for people with disability is not able to access health care services compared to individuals who are able-bodied. Older Australian also faces challenges in getting medical treatment when they visit health centers.

Urbanization in developed nations such as Australia has led to increases in diseases such as respiratory diseases. Increased rapid urbanization has caused environmental pollution in cities and major towns in Australia. This comes with more health challenges since pollution of air and other forms of pollution makes people unhealthy. Access to fresh food in cities has become a challenge. The quality of food consumed by a person determines how healthy or unhealthy they are likely to be. Cases of obesity have also increased in Australia and they are more common in urban areas where people eat junk food. Urbanization, therefore, has brought about new challenges to the Australian government in the quest of trying to offer improved health care services.

Statistics indicate that between the year 2003 and 2013, there was a 21% increase in cases of chronic diseases in Australia. The increase in the cases of chronic disease has become an additional burden to the government of Australia. The government needs to carry out health education to encourage people to live more healthy lifestyles in order to be able to reduce the cases of this diseases.

Research also indicates that majority of Australians prefer receiving medical care from their own homes or communities. For the government to achieve this, it has to emphasize on high quality integrated care. This will allow healthcare practitioners to collaborate in the treatment of patients at their homes and in their own communities.

Conclusion

In general, Australians enjoy some of the best health services globally. This is attributed to the design and efficiency of the healthcare system that is centered on Medicare. Australia has the fifth highest life expectancy in the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries with the life expectancy of males being at 80 years while that of males is at 84 years(Dalton-Brown, 2016). Each state has the ability to design its own legislation to design an health system that fits its specific needs. The health care system has many functions such as the provision of aged care facility, personal health services, basic medical treatment and medication. Other functions include the provision of public health services and community health services. Some of the factors that determine the design and functions of the health system include; economic factors, political factors, and social factors. The cost of providing health care also determines the design of a healthcare system. The report also discusses the various key issues facing the Australian Healthcare systems as discussed above.

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