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Articles on Health policy

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One-third of rural patients wait 24 hours or longer for an urgent GP appointment. Image from shutterstock.com

Country practice: recruiting doctors to work in the bush

If you live far from a city, you are likely to be in poorer health than your urban counterparts; you’re also less likely to use health-care services and if you do, you’ll have to wait longer for care…
Based on current evidence, expanding these services is the right thing to do. Image from shutterstock.com

A rational expansion of breast cancer screening

In the ninth part of our series Health Rationing, Stephen Duckett examines the government’s decision to extend the breast cancer screening program. As one of many pre-budget teasers, Health Minister Plibersek…
Health rationing assessments compare different aspects of health such as pain, anxiety, mobility and social interactions – but what’s more important? Image from shutterstock.com

Comparing apples, pears and hips: health rationing at work

In the seventh part of our series Health Rationing, Richard Norman and Rosalie Viney explain the controversial system governments use to decide what will and won’t be covered under Australia’s universal…
The health budget isn’t limitless: decisions have to be made about to how to allocate funding between competing choices. AAP/Dave Hunt

Health funding under the microscope – but what should we pay for?

In the sixth part of our series Health Rationing, Mark Mackay examines the latest think tank blueprint to rein in Australia’s rising health costs. But he warns that before funding models are adjusted…
The current fee-for-service model makes it difficult to contain costs and boost the quality of care. Image from shutterstock.com

Phase out GP consultation fees for a better Medicare

In the fourth part of our series Health Rationing, Peter Sivey explains why it might be time to abandon Medicare’s fee-for-service model. Teachers aren’t paid a fee for each lesson they teach, nor are…
We need a more rational debate about how and where we spend our finite health budget. Image from shutterstock.com

Explainer: what is health rationing?

HEALTH RATIONING – a series which examines Australia’s rising health costs and the tough decisions governments must make to rein them it. Any mention of the “R” word in health care immediately brings to…
The biggest and fastest-growing spending category in health is hospitals. Image from shutterstock.com

Tough choices: how to rein in Australia’s rising health bill

With health costs rising and costly medical innovations on the horizon, it’s crunch time for health funding. In the lead up to the May budget, The Conversation’s experts will explore the options for reining…
Research should be routinely performed as part of health-care delivery. Image from shutterstock.com

Don’t bury the benefits of research to improve the health system

If you missed the release of the McKeon review on Friday you’re not alone. The Commonwealth government released the Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research just before the weekend – a time usually…
Medicare locals aim to reduce visits to emergency departments by coordinating after-hours care. image from shutterstock.com

Give Medicare Locals a chance to improve health equity

While independent, government-funded Medicare Locals are still in their embryonic form, opposition health spokesperson Peter Dutton has hinted that, if elected, a Coalition government would scrap the bureaucracies…
The recent rise in the number of GPs could be welcomed as addressing the shortage. Image from shutterstock.com

Is the national doctor shortage a myth?

Monash University demographer Bob Birrell is quoted in today’s Australian newspaper as saying the national doctor shortage is “a myth”. He points out a large recent increase in the number of GPs, a rise…
Anaesthetist James Latham Peters transmitted the virus to his patients after he injected himself with the drug fentanyl. Image from shutterstock.com

How was a drug-addicted doctor with hep C able to infect his patients?

Fifty-five women contracted hepatitis C after having abortions in Melbourne between 2008 and 2009. James Latham Peters, an anaesthetist with a drug dependence, has been prosecuted in Victoria for infecting…
Health Minister Tanya Plibersek (centre) announced the Commonwealth would pay the $107 million directly to hospitals. AAP/Julian Smith

Medi-muddle: hospital funding fight is resolved but the blame game goes on

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…
Even if the potential donor is registered with the Australian Organ Donor Register, the family may still veto donation. Flickr/cabbit

Organ donation boost requires action, not just talk

Yesterday marked the beginning of DonateLife Week, in which Australia’s Organ and Tissue Authority ramps up efforts to promote organ and tissue donation with a week-long media blitz and program of public…
Key health policy issues that need to be addressed include co-payments, private health insurance and resource allocation. AAP/Alan Porritt

Clear thinking needed on election health priorities

There was a time when health policy involved intense ideological conflict along partisan lines. In the 1940s, the Chifley government fought all the way to a constitutional referendum to introduce subsidies…
Taxpayers should get something in return for their investment – good doctors, where they’re needed. UoNottingham

Medical intern crisis won’t be solved with just more hospital places

Almost two hundred medical students from diverse countries have just finished their medical education as full-fee-paying students. They’re now looking for the one year of employment (internship) they need…

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