1. 9. Australia’s health system

2. Elements of Australia’s health system Australia’s health system is effective and efficient when compared to other similar countries Australian’s have access to public and private healthcare

3. Public health Public health is focused on health promotion, health protection and disease and injury prevention for the population as a whole Public health includes: – Disease prevention programs – Community medical infrastructure e.g. GPs, hospitals and other healthcare providers – Support services e.g. school welfare coordinators – Public education campaigns

4. Approaches to health and healthcare The biomedical approach: – Focused on the role of medical science in diagnosing, treating and curing illness The preventative approach: – Focused on preventing illness before it arises through risk factor prevention

5. Roles and responsibilities of health sectors Public sector – managed by federal, state and territory and local governments – Responsible for the public hospital system – Responsible for Medicare Private sector – Private practitioners, GPs, dentists, physiotherapists and other healthcare providers – Private hospitals fall under this sector

6. Universal access to healthcare Medicare is Australia’s universal public health insurance system run by a government agency called Medicare Australia It provides high quality health care to all Australian’s that is affordable and accessible Its main goal is to remove financial barriers to healthcare Medicare ensures that all Australians have access to: – Free treatment in public hospitals – Free or subsidised treatment by medical practitioners The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) subsidises the cost of a wide range of prescription medicines

7. Private health insurance Many Australian’s take out private health insurance, which provides additional insurance for some services that are not covered by Medicare

8. Issues facing Australia’s health system Issues include: – Human rights and ethics – Medical technology – Complementary and alternative healthcare – Environmental health – Rural health services – The ageing population – Can you think of any others? Brainstorm as a class.

9. Human rights and ethics Issues include: – IVF – Gene technology – Stem-cell research – Cloning – Abortion – Organ donation – Xenotransplantation – discrimination

10. Medical technology Use of technology raises significant issues: – Cost to the healthcare system – The effectiveness and benefits – Community expectations – Ethical issues – Access issues

11. Complementary / Alternative care These include services that ‘complement’ or work alongside conventional medical services Examples include: – Acupuncture – Homeopathy – Yoga – Naturopathy – Osteopathy – Aromatherapy – Herbal medicine

12. Environmental health The health of an individual or community is affected by the environment in which they live. Issues include: – Emergencies and disasters – Climate change – Drinking water supplies – Urban development – Lack of environmental health infrastructure in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

13. The ageing population An ageing population is one where older age groups make up an increasing proportion of the population There are two main factors influencing the ageing population in Australia: – Declining fertility rates – Increase in life expectancy

14. Rural health services More than half of the Australian population live in capital cities and many more live in other large cities Over 6 million people live outside of the cities in rural and remote areas Poor health status in these areas is influenced by: socioeconomic status, environment, access to healthcare, fewer healthcare personnel, access to goods and services, ageing population