When you’re admitted to a public hospital, they’ll want to know if you have private health insurance.
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When you enter a public hospital, you are likely to be asked if you have private health insurance, and if you want to use it. This is what you need to consider.
The funding proposal is no fix for Australia’s health system but it could take some political pressure off the Coalition in the lead up to the 2019 federal election.
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The A$1.25 billion health funding boost isn’t based on any coherent policy direction. It’s designed to shore up support in marginal electorates.
In a public hospital, a team of doctors will be looking after you.
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The person in charge of your surgery is a consultant surgeon. A consultant is the most qualified doctor in a hospital.
There are major differences – plus a few similarities – between the health promises from Labor, the Coalition and the Greens.
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Need a quick overview of what the major parties are promising in health this election? We’ve got you covered.
Health is the largest single component of state government expenditure.
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Australians are waiting too long for elective surgery, dental care and treatment for mental health. It’s no wonder health is a vote-changer.
A small hospital in Wakiso district in the central region of Uganda.
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Only 16 out of 48 African countries and islands have access to hospital services within the WHO’s two-hour time threshold.
Rates of infection vary between hospitals, but these differences aren’t picked up in the accreditation process.
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Each year, inspectors visit Australian hospitals. But they’re less like secret shoppers who identify flaws, and more like guests of a carefully orchestrated performance. This needs to change.
Women who have had a heart attack are less likely to be given an angiogram (a special X-ray to detect blockages of the heart), rehabilitation, or medication than men.
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New research shows women receive sub-optimal care after they have a heart attack and are twice as likely than men to die six months after the attack.
States compare wait times differently so it’s hard to judge the scale of the problem.
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Reports often talk about surgery wait times, but the time to actually see the specialist for the first time is the hidden waitlist.
Women having a subsequent baby are more likely to disclose domestic violence than first time mothers.
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Domestic violence in pregnancy not only causes distress and trauma for the mother, it also poses serious risks for the baby’s health and development.
Some people choose private health insurance for shorter wait times.
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Private health insurance premiums will rise from April 1, leaving consumers wondering if they should give it up or downgrade to save money.
Tasmanians experience some of the poorest health outcomes in the country.
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The Jacqui Lambie Network plan is short on detail and unlikely to improve the health system or outcomes for Tasmanians over the longer term.
The five yearly negotiations have long generated controversy and angst.
Jair Lázaro
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?
The rate of complications varies markedly between hospitals.
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One in four patients who stays overnight in hospital endures a complication.
Around 3,000 more Australian patients have a complication in their hospital care in January than in other months.
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New medical staff start in January and may not be as skilled or adept as their predecessors, meaning more things go wrong.
Patients fear the penalties will end up reducing patient care.
Piron Guillaume
The reality of how the so-called penalties will work won’t match the rhetoric.
Information on patients’ experiences with their hospital care is often not reported back to public hospitals at unit or ward level.
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We have lots of data about hospital safety, but it’s not used to make us safer or more comfortable when we’re admitted.
A new report has claimed public patients are worse off with increased numbers of private patients in public hospitals.
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There may be some benefits to public hospitals treating more private patients.
The Medicare Guarantee Fund appears to be no more than an accounting trick.
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The fund is nothing more than a rebadging exercise in the hope people might think it is a new policy. And it’s being used to airbrush public hospitals out of the Medicare picture.
Real-time tracking of drug production and distribution involves standardisation and investment in manufacturing and processing infrastructure.
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A pirated movie won’t kill you, but a counterfeit blood-thinner might. Australia needs stronger laws and tougher enforcement to counter fake drugs.