Health Care Quality Access in Contemporary Australian Society

This paper discusses the influences that have helped shape the health care system in Australia with emphasis on service delivery model and provider network. It also highlights the success of health care provision in Australia ensuring that quality care is available.

Running head: CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA 1
Health Care Quality Access in Contemporary Australian Society
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA 2
Health Care Quality Access in Contemporary Australian Society
Australia is regarded as one of the best nations that offer high-quality health care for
its citizens as well as tourists. According to the World Health Organization report of 2017,
Australia’s health index is rated between good and excellent (Biggs, 2013). Regardless, the
journey towards achieving the objectives of becoming one of the best in the provision of
healthcare has not been a smooth one. Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to delineate on
two key influences that have helped shape the health care system in Australia with emphasis
on service delivery model and provider network.
Service Delivery Model
Under the Australian government, there is a sophisticated health service package that
encompasses a diversity in funding, administration as well as regulatory mechanisms. In
addition, the services are offered by a number of echelons of government counting federal,
municipal and local administrations in addition to the private and non-profit organizations
(Mossialos, Wenzl, Osborn, & Sarnak, 2016). Within each organization, some differential
tasks and responsibilities are handed to them to achieve their mandates. For instance,
according to the federal government, the primary responsibilities is the initiation of a national
health care payment incentives for its citizens (Wakerman et al., 2017). Adopted as Medicare,
the aim is to make health care reasonably priced through the fee or exceedingly funded health
care and as such, access to all Australians including those unable to pay for the medical
services.
The health care system under its service delivery model, the Australian government,
has insured care for its people under two facets: primary care and acute care. Primary
responsibility is considered to be the first level of contact with the healthcare system. In most
cases, it is provided to the community by general practitioners who are either self-employed

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or employed by the federal government. The role of the general practitioners is to act as
gatekeepers by referring patients to other specialists within the medical field. For instance,
under the Medicare scheme, there is an insurance plan to provide either free or subsidized
doles for therapeutic and diagnostic and allied health services (Perkins et al., 2015).
The other facet is the acute care. Acute care is provided either n private or in public
hospitals. One of the recommendations that have brought influence to the contemporary
community of Australia is the sanctioning of acute care in public hospitals. Within this, a
range of free or subsidized community health services such as vaccination and psychological
health facilities are provided to the public health facilities (Brownson, Colditz, & Proctor,
2017). Another recommendation that has been adopted by the federal government is the
subsidized aged services. In this model, the residential elderly care is provided by a mix of
non profit making, private as well as public institutions.
More elaborately, within the service delivery model, pharmacies are required to
adhere to the strict code of service provision for Medicare-eligible patients. In this case, one
of the strong influences is the dispense of medications by private pharmacists who are paid
by the government under the Apothecary Agreement to provide medicines under the
Pharmaceutical Welfares Scheme such as the scheme that provides for veterans (Brownson et
al., 2017).
The service delivery model as well is categorized under specific roles and
responsibilities which attenuate the influences that have benefited health care delivery
(Wakerman et al., 2017). Among them is the segregation of management and administration
roles to the states and territories governments. In this case, the states and territories
governments are tasked with ensuring the provision of the regulation, inspection, licensing
and monitoring of health premises through the integration of technologically advanced

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monitoring systems (Mossialos et al., 2015). Congruently, the states and territories
governments also provide for ambulance and emergency services such as public dental clinics
and funding for community health services.
As for the federal government, the role is more focused on the general provision of
quality and effective health care services. They include the Medicare benefits schedule which
ensures subsided access to clinically relevant medical and diagnostic as well as allied services
(Agency, 2018). Moreover, the federal government is stipulated to provide a safety net for the
Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the National Immunisation Program. Furthermore, the
federal government is required to offer more modernized health care under its service
delivery models that include regulation of private health insurers, provision for health care for
the aged as well as education of healthcare professionals within the accredited or approved
colleges (Brownson et al., 2017). All in all, under the service delivery system or model, the
Australian community has been provided with the best regular and structured delivery of
health care that is quality assured and efficient.
Provider Network
The Australian healthcare system is integrated within all the corners of the country
ensuring that all citizens regardless of age and socioeconomic status are catered. In other
words, through the provider network, there are three categories, at least, that ensure that the
contemporary community of Australia receives the best and quality health care (Mossialos et
al., 2015). They include health elevation and disease preclusion, primary care besides civic
services in addition tertiary and secondary services (Drummond, Sculpher, Claxton, Stoddart,
& Torrance, 2015). Since 2012, the Federal government has made its mission to integrate all
spheres of health care and to make it a priority to be congruent with the world’s vision on
improving health care by 2030 (Millennial Development Goals) (Biggs, 2013).

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Under health care promotion and disease prevention, the mission is to ensure that all
communicable diseases are under surveillance as a monitoring strategy to limit damage and
spread as soon as any ailment occurs. To ensure that the community is well monitored and
screened, the Communicable Diseases Network Australia is tasked with the duties of
coordinating surveillance, response to outbreaks and develop policies and training protocols
to medical officers on how to handle emergencies (Drummond, Sculpher, Claxton, Stoddart,
& Torrance, 2015). Additionally, the federal in collaboration with the states and territories
governments, there is screening and immunization standards from the National Immunisation
Program Schedule which ensures children and adults alike are immunized against preventable
diseases (Runciman, Merry, & Walton, 2017). On end on health promotion, the federal
government is required to initiate as well as involve the citizens in understanding the effects
of tobacco and alcohol consumption on their health through publications that insist on
informing the country on the negativity of continued use of the substances (Osborn et al.,
2015). They also include family health planning and mental health awareness.
Likewise, the provider network entails the primary care and community services.
Primary care has been at the forefront of ensuring that citizens in Australia get the best health
care services in the world (Osborn et al., 2015). To do so, the Australian federal government
through states and territories administration has ensured to regulate education and provision
of primary care. They include setting regulations and standards for general practitioners both
in private and public hospitals by stipulating education levels, grade scores and professional
practice (Mossialos et al., 2016). The accreditation processes are not limited to counselors,
acupuncturists, chiropractors, dentists, dieticians and nurses as well as occupational
therapists. As for the community health services, the Australian government has ensured that
hospitals and mental care units are well funded by the federal and states governments,
especially in poor communities.

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Another important success that the Australian government has done for its people is
the provision of Medicare locals for primary care. In this, the general practitioners provide
care for the aged as well as provide allied care services for the community. Additionally, the
Australian government through technological integration has ensured that indigenous
communities through sanatoria, public clinics as well as Aboriginal Civic Skillful Health
Amenities, as well as specific main health care, is provided using community-based settings
(Runciman et al., 2017). For instance, with the Aboriginal communities, there are over one-
hundred and fifty healthcare service centers provided throughout the country.
Secondary and tertiary services are another provider of network services that have
influenced the success of health care provision in Australia. In these strategies, the
governments have designated in-patient and out-patient services (Duckett & Willcox, 2015).
More than seven hundred public hospitals in Australia are accredited to have both in-patient
and out-patient facilities to cater for acute and primary care for the patients. Moreover, the
Australian government provides for ambulance services that are fully funded and delivered in
more than six states and territories. In the ambulance services, there is the inclusion of
transport, acute care and coordination of emergency services (Australia Government, 2012).
Finally, there is long-term and continuing care services for the aged and the disabled.
Palliative care is provided under the Medicare insurance plan where 75% of the costs are
guaranteed under the federal government whereas, the rest is catered for under private
insurance (Biggs, 2013). In summary, provider network and service delivery models are two
key influences that have shaped the delivery of healthcare services in Australia
(contemporary) ensuring that quality care is available.

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