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Hierarchy of Power in Australia’s Healthcare System Assignment

   

Added on  2020-03-16

12 Pages3219 Words63 Views
Running head: HIERARCHY OF POWER IN AUSTRALIA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM1 Hierarchy of Power in Australia’s HealthCare System (Author’s name)(Institutional Affiliation)

HIERARCHY OF POWER IN AUSTRALIA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM 2 Introduction A 2017 study by a group of America researchers on the 11 different health care models that are used by developed countries around the world revealed that Australia’s healthcare system is one of the best in the world (Hierarchystructure, 2017). Australia’s healthcare system isregarded as one of the most comprehensive, accessible and affordable systems in the world. The system is managed by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing whose mandate is to ensure that all Australians have access to important family and health services. Health care services in the country are predominantly provided by hospitals that are either government or private operated and by private medical practitioners. The country also has Medicare which is a universal health care system that subsidizes most of the medical costs for Australian citizens in Australia (Hierarchystructure, 2017). The success of the country’s Medicare system is largely attributed to the advanced nature of its private health insurance system. Despite the significant level of success achieved by the healthcare system, the country has witnessed a rise in the number of individuals who believe that hierarchy and power are intrinsic to the current health care system (Jamieson et al., 2015). Proponents of this school of thought argue that under the current health care system, the powerful members of the society obtain better healthcare services than the less powerful members. They believe that a person’s status in society plays an integral role in determining the type of health care he/she gets. This objective of this paper is to provide a discussion on the argument that hierarchy and power are intrinsic in Australia’s healthcare system. The paper will seek to determine the validity of the argument and its impact on the Country’s health care system. The paper will also seek to investigate why proponents of this argument believe it to be so.

HIERARCHY OF POWER IN AUSTRALIA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM 3 Sociology and the Role of Perspectives The level of success obtained by Australia’s healthcare system is made possible due to the social life in the country. A number of studies have made it evident that an individual’s sociallife is capable of significantly influencing his/her health. One such study was conducted by the University of North Carolina and proved that individuals with close supportive relationships have better physical health outcomes than those without. The study also proved that individuals with positive social life respond better to health care than those without. To obtain a better understanding of how society influences individuals, it is important to review the primary theoretical perspectives as they provide a paradigm view of the society. The perspectives are symbolic interactionism, functionalism and conflict theory. Symbolic interactionism requires health care practitioners to regard the symbols and details of a person’s everyday life when providing the individual with care. The functionalist perspective holds that all societal aspects are interdependent and they contribute to the functionality of the society as a whole. The conflict perspective holds that society is in a state of constant competition for scarce resources and that the wealthy in society are able to control the weak. The conflict perspective covers the concept of hierarchy and power in determining the type of health care afforded to individuals. Under this perspective, individualswho are wealthy in society obtain better health care than those who are not. Biomedical Model The biomedical model is a medical perspective that is used by health care providers in the diagnosis of disease and the delivery of care. Under the biomedical model health care is providedto an individual based primarily on the person’s biological processes. The model does not consider an individual’s living conditions or lifestyle but instead focusing on the illness with the

HIERARCHY OF POWER IN AUSTRALIA’S HEALTHCARE SYSTEM 4objective of returning the individual’s physical health to its re illness state. The cause of the illness is not placed at the center of the model thereby eliminating the concept of hierarchy and power in the delivery of health care. The biomedical model of health care has a number of advantages and disadvantages. Someof its major advantages include the creation of advances in research and technology, provides forthe treatment of a number of common problems, extends life expectancy, and improves life quality. Some of the disadvantages associated with the biomedical model include it is costly due to the fact that it relies on technology and professional health care workers, not all medical conditions can be treated through this model, it does not always promote the health of the person.Individuals who argue that Australia’s health care system is integrated with hierarchy and power cite the fact that the country’s health care system is based on biomedical model which costly makes it susceptible to influence by those who are in power. Hierarchy and Power The term hierarchy and power can be used both in a social context and in a medical context. Under the social context, the term hierarchy and power refers to how the wealthy members of society are able to acquire better health care services than the disadvantaged members of the society. This concept of hierarchy and power is greatly supported by the conflict social perspective discussed above. Elements of this form of hierarchy and power are evident within the Australian health care context where individuals who are of a higher economic and social standing are able to afford better health insurance coverage and as a result of this obtain better health care services. The second context of health care and power that this paper will focus on is that found within healthcare setting which focuses greatly on the structure of healthcare organizations. The term

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