describing briefly the health challenges and issues confronting Australian communities
Introduction
Australia has an institutionally established publicly funded health system (Medicare) based on the principle of ‘universal access.’ This entitles Australian residents to subsidized healthcare professionals’ (i.e. doctors, medical specialists, etc.) treatment and free treatment in publicly funded hospitals. Surprisingly, Australians can obtain private health insurance (which covers private hospitals, dental, specialists, and so on); however, the cost of this is borne primarily by the insured, who pays a few personal health providers. Australia’s health system structure is complex, with funding and responsibilities shared by the federal, state, and territory governments. This fragmented funding model, combined with information asymmetry between patients and healthcare providers, has made patient care coordination difficult. Australia’s publicly funded Medicare system ranks well internationally (for example, high life expectancy, low infant mortality rates, and so on) [1]. However, Australia, like many other developed countries, will face major issues and challenges in maintaining and, more importantly, improving patient health care over the next decade. The major core health issues and challenges that I believe Australia will need to address are as follows.
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Demographic shifts
The ability of the healthcare sector to maintain the health and well-being of an aging population in the face of tightening budgets and rising healthcare costs will be a major challenge for successive Australian governments. In 2013, 14% of the population was over 65. By 2053, it is expected that 21% of the population will be over the age of 65. For fear of voter backlash, all Australian governments have traditionally resisted making significant changes to the widely supported Medicare system. However, in recent years, governments have been forced to address the growing fiscal burden by increasing efficiency and (ii) subsidizing private health care, with the expectation that higher-income earners will shift to private medical providers.
The cost of technology
In the twenty-first century, technology and technological breakthroughs have improved patients’ lives regarding diagnostics and disease management. However, technology’s ongoing cost and spread will impose significant budgetary constraints in maintaining and improving health care. Interestingly, while technology in non-health industries declines over time, healthcare technology and the specific type of technology have increased the burden on government budgets [2]. The challenge will be to use technologies that improve citizens’ health and well-being and are cost-effective.
Both the private and public sectors provide healthcare funding.
There is a ‘perception’ in Australia, particularly among Liberal governments, that if the healthcare system were left to the market, it would be more efficient. Australia has a unique mix of public and private expenditure, with the private sector accounting for approximately 30% of total spending. The rising cost of technology, an aging population, and disease management measures, among other factors, will force the Australian government to seek market-based solutions to the larger budgetary pressures that successive governments will face (e.g. pricing to market of medical services, GP surcharge, etc.).
Issues in the field of medical research
Australia has a long history of medical research breakthroughs. Surprisingly, Australia lacks the basic structures and cross-stakeholder links needed to: (i) integrate national health and medical research plans, (ii) align medical research with national health priorities, and (iii) set strategic goals for the random allocation of limited research funds [3].
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Inequity and health disparities
Australia’s health has gotten a lot better, as shown by things like longer life expectancy, lower death rates, and better disease management controls, among other things. This, however, has not been distributed evenly across groups. For example, the life expectancy of the indigenous population is about 70 years, which is much lower than that of the non-indigenous population, about 84 years. There is also a big difference between how the healthcare system treats the rich and the poor.
Health problems associated with rapid urbanization
Increased urbanization has also created several health challenges for governments in planning healthy and sustainable communities across many developed countries. Increased urbanization, for example, has posed significant issues in terms of access to fresh food, higher rates of obesity, asthma rates, and rising mental health issues (e.g., rising suicide rates), among other things.
