Comprehensive Analysis of the Australian Health System and Challenges

This report provides a detailed overview of the Australian health system, including its structure, governance arrangements, and functions. It highlights the system's reliance on public funding, various healthcare providers, and the roles of primary healthcare, emergency departments, and specialist consultants. The report also describes the involvement of the Australian government, local governments, and private health professionals in the system's operation. Furthermore, it discusses the factors influencing the design and function of the Australian health system, such as geography, history, economy, and political influences. The report concludes by identifying current key issues confronting the system, including the aging population, workforce shortages, and funding challenges, emphasizing the need for attention and potential remedies. Desklib offers more solved assignments for students.

Running head: AUSTRALIAN HEALTH SYSTEM 1
Australian Health System
Name
Institutional Affiliation

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH SYSTEM2
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
A description of the system, its structure, governance arrangements and function.....................3
Describe the factors that have influenced the design and function of the system........................8
Describe the current key issues confronting the system that require attention............................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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Australian Health System
Introduction
A health system is the arrangementindividuals, organizations, and assetswho
providemedical services to meet the medical requirements of specific part of the populations.A
health system is comprised of all instituions, individuals,and actions whose main purpose is to
improve, reestablish or sustain health. It involves efforts to affect factors tha impact health as
well as directly doing health-improving deeds. A health system is, hence, more than the
collection of facilities belonging to the publicwhich offerindividual health services (Sturmberg,
O'halloran, & Martin, 2012). It involves inter-segment acttivities by health personell, for
example, urging the ministry of education to endorseeducating of females, a well-
knowninfluencing factor of better health.A good health system offers good quality services to
every individual, where and when they require them. The precisearrangementof services differs
from nation to nation, but in all instances itnecessitates a huge fundingsystem; a well-educated,
trained and appropriately paidlabor force; dependabledata on which to foundresolutionsand
policies; well-preservedamenitiesand logistics to give quality technologies and medicines (Frenk,
et al., 2010). This essay will look at the Australian health system. It will give a description of the
health system, how it is governed and what are its functions. It will then give and describe the
factors which impact the health system’s design and functions. Finally, it will explain what
current vital issues are impacting the health system so much it requires a remedy.
A description of the system, its structure, governance arrangements and function.
The Australian health system provides an extensive array of services to Australian
citizens. It is mainly funded by the public through general taxes that the population pays but it
also consists of other various funders. It comprises of various healthcare providers who make it

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH SYSTEM4
possible to provide healthcare to individuals in Australia who require it. In the Australian
healthcare system, the emergency departments (EDs) and General practitioners (GPs) act as the
focal point where it connects to other health services. These services include inpatient care,
specialist consultation, diagnostic tests and hospital admission. These different tiers in the system
fulfill various roles. First, the primary healthcare is where most people first go when they get
sick. This service is given in different settings like community health centers, home and in
general practices. The services are given by doctors together with pharmacists, dentists,
community nurses and allied health specialists. There is also the general practitioners who
provide their services in the after-hours. It is used by those who cannot get medical help because
the general practices are closed for the day and aremainly available in major cities. Emergency
departments provide immediate healthcare to patients with crucial and urgent treatment (De
Savigny, & Adam, 2009). Specialists consultants work in a specific field of medicine such as
gynecology and dermatology. Hence patients go to specialists through referrals by GPs or when
they have a specific problem like issues with their skin. My health record provides an online
compilation of a summary of your health records. It makes it easier to provide your information
during doctors visits thus making the process go faster. Local and primary health networks is a
list of a network of hospitals in different regions in the country thus making it easier to know
where one can access medical services in these regions. These hospitals also can develop a
working relationship for the good of patients (Szlezák, et al., 2010).
The Australian health system has an intricate structure which works in coordination
withensuring that individuals get access to the best healthcare depending on what they require. It
has been set in a way that the different components of the system work together in conjunction
and seamlessly thus ensuring patients have an easy time getting the services. The system is a

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mixture of public and private sector health service providers and a range of funding and
regulatory mechanisms.The health system has the following components; first is the Australian
Government and it has various roles to fulfill. First, the government creates and formulates
comprehensive domestic policies which are meant to give rules of operations which help the
different components of the health system to function properly(De Savigny, & Adam, 2009). The
Government also comes up with regulations which give the different limits for those in the health
system. It also provides funding for the Australian health system through two benefits scheme.
These are the Medicare benefits scheme where the government provides subsidies to payments
for getting services from medical professionals like doctors and allied health providers. Then the
pharmaceutical benefits scheme which gives subsidies to payments when an individual has a
largenumber of prescribed drugs which are bought in community pharmacies. The government
also makes arrangements to provide healthcare to Australian Defence Forces. Finally, the
government makes it possible for there to be clinical training and education through the National
Medical Training Advisory (Suter, Oelke, Adair, & Armitage, 2009).
The second component is the local governments, territory and state authorities. Its main
responsibilities include delivering and managing the public health services given to the
individuals who fall under their charge in the areas they oversee. They also maintain
relationships directly between them and healthcare providers through ways like regulating
private hospitals and health professionals. The next component is the private health professionals
like the health specialists, consultant medical doctors,and general practice doctors. All of whom
provide healthcare services. Finally are the non-profit and for-profit organizations and voluntary
societies. These also work together with healthcare providers to give services to everyone in
need (Mossialos, Wenzl, Osborn, &Sarnak, 2016).

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The governance arrangement of the Australian health system is set so that the different
organization in the health sector can work together while following some rules which have been
set. The Australian government has the main responsibility of coordinating the health
systemoverall with the help of the state and territory government health ministers. Each minister
is responsible for managing the health system that fa under their jurisdiction. The health
ministers are referred to as the Health Council collectively and they are under the umbrella of the
Council of Australian Governments. The Health Council’s members also include the
Newzealand Health Minister and the Australian Government Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Its
responsibility is to give an opportunity for the working together of different agencies on issues o
health like primary and secondary care. They also give a consideration of the adding pressures of
the cost of healthcare (Smith, et al., 2012). The Health Council is given support by the Australian
Health Minister’s Advisory Council. These councils are governed using health regulations set by
the Government. These regulations manage things by heading the licensing of pharmacies,
registering of private hospitals, regulation of food standards and many other regulations. Health
professionals are registered by National Registration and Accreditation Scheme which so far
comprises of fourteen professions. The scheme sets standards which the professions must meet
thus ensuring that those providing healthcare meet the best standards (Braithwaite, &Travaglia,
2008).
The Australian health system has various functions; first is that it regulates the standards
of health providers. It gives standards that those employed in the health sector must meet so that
they can give the best care. It ensures that people in Australia get the best healthcare possible
which starts with having the most qualified and ethical doctors. The next function is to come up
with policies and regulations to govern the whole health sector and all those involved. This

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ensures that those involved in this sector follow certain rules that are set which ensures
everything is upto par. If they do not follow the set rules and regulations there are those in the
system tasked with implementing the penalties. The next function is to ensure that those
working in the healthcare sector have their rights upheld. The system makes provisions for the
existence of professional bodies who ensure that the employers respect the rights of their
workers. If they do not the bodies have a right to demand it and also fight for their rights
(Dunston, Lee, Boud, Brodie, &Chiarella, 2009).
Another function is to ensure that people in Australia have access to quality healthcare at
an affordable price. The system has schemes like Medicare which provide subsidies for hospital
care and services. It ensures that individuals can be treated with procedures that are life-saving
but were once thought to be expensive. Hence with this people can now easily afford them and
also can afford to buy prescriptionmedication. Therefore leading to increased savings for them.
The next function is to ensure that everyone in Australia can gain access to quality healthcare
wherever they are. Thus this system ensures even distribution of health facilities and personnel in
the country. It ensures that anyone even in rural areas has access to the same good quality health
care as those in urban areas. Another function is to ensure that all medical personnel is trained to
the best of standards and also help in recruiting the best employees to the health sector. With
this, it increases the health workforce. Finally, it creates and maintains a way for thehealth sector
to get funding. With this funding, it ensures that they can deliver the best health services to the
Australian populations. It also regulates the spending of these funds to ensure that they are spent
in the right manner and not misused. Thus it ensures that there is accountability in the whole
system (Sørensen, et al., 2012).

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Describe the factors that have influenced the design and function of the system.
The Australian health system is quite unique because it is influenced by various factors in
its design and also the functions it performs. First is the geography, the country is expansive and
covers a lot of areas as compared to some countries which are essentially one big city. Thus
because of how huge the country is, the health system should be made in a way that it covers
everywhere. The system should make it possible for people in rural areas to access specialized
healthcare easily (Holman, et al. , 2008). The next factor is history. The health system was
created in line with its colonial history and the political structures created then. Thus the system
is influenced by Australia’s connection to Britain and their cultures. The medical training in
Australia is modeled after the UK and also Most hospitals in Australia were built during the
colonial period. Another factor is the economy of Australia. Its economy is quite strong thus they
have a huge capacity of offering healthcare that meets high standards. Thus as the economy is
high, the Australian government spends more of their budget on the healthcare system (Kitson,
Marshall, Bassett, &Zeitz, 2013). Another thing is the political influence. In Australia, the
political class supports the health system and its functioning which ensures that the health system
will be successful. They also are critical of the system when it goes wrong thus it leads to the
accountability of the system whichensures it meets their high standards of expectations (Boyd, &
Fortin, 2010).
The next one is that there is a level of trust between the government and the health sector
which leads to the independence of health professionals. With this independence, Australians are
sure that the health system works with no third party influence but only for the best of the people
who need their services. It thus ensures there is transparency and equal access to different
healthcare services (Mair, et al., 2012). The next influence is that the Australian population is

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH SYSTEM9
aging at a fast rate which leads to various issues arising. There is an increase of individuals who
are in need of healthcare services due to developing chronic illnesses. Thus it increases demand
for healthcareand also the betterment of the service design and functionality. Also with the
agingpopulation, it has led to a reduction in the healthcare workforce. This will result in a
reduction of the services offered because there are no qualified people to offer it (Buntin, et al.,
2011). The final factor is the demography that exists in Australia. The country is quite huge but
has a small population which covers this vast area thus the system has to be made in a way that
everyone even in the remotest area can access the services they require. Also, with the huge
amount of people immigrating to Australia, the individuals have specialneeds which are different
from the ones common in the country. Hence the health needs have evolved in a way that the
system needs to be restructured to cover these health needs (Nutbeam, 2008).
Describe the current key issues confronting the system that require attention.
The Australian health system faces various key challenges which need to be tackled so
that the system can function better. First, with the advent of various new technology in the
medical field, it will lead to increased cost. As doctors feel that the use of new technologies will
lead to better healthcare for patients, it will lead to the adaptation of them. Thus it will strain the
government’s fixed budget for subsidizing services for Australians. This will lead to some people
not gaining access to the services they require because it is expensive. Another challenge is that
more and more people are aging and are developing several chronic diseases which require all-
around care. Thus as all Australians are entitled to some subsidies it will increase the cost for the
government because they require the care. Therefore ithas severe implications for the
government as it leads to cost pressure to cover these medical care services rendered (Nolte, &
McKee, 2008). The next challenge is that a lot of patients report that they feel that the system is

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH SYSTEM10
working in a disjointed manner. Most medical service providers give work in isolation thus when
the patient is referred to the next level to get the care it feels uncoordinated leading to the patient
feeling frustrated because they have no clear pattern to follow to get help. They sometimes
cannot find the services they need or when they do they find duplicated services provided due to
uncoordination (Best, et al., 2012).
The next issue is that the Australian health system is seen as being complex hence
challenging to different individuals. These are mostly individuals who have complex medical
conditions and are under the care of various medical professionals and with this they have to
navigate between these different health services. It becomes difficult for the patients to do all this
because it is overwhelming to move from one place to be next when sick (Ludwick,& Doucette,
2009). Also, with this system continuation and follow up care is not assured because they are
different professionals involved it's hard to continue healthcare where another professional left
off. Another challenge is there is lack of equity and health equality in Australia. Even though the
Australian health sector has made huge improvements to it like increased life expectancy and
lowered mortality rates it is not similar to everyone in the population. The life expectancy in the
indigenous population which is 70 years of age is significantly lower than ofthose who are non-
indigenous which are 84 years. Thus his means that not everyone receives the best healthcare
possible even though it exists but it is not available to everyone equally (Rouse, 2008).
Also, the kind of healthcare treatment one receives varies depending on the socio-
economic class they belong to. In Australia, the more affluent you are the better you healthcare
you receive but if you fall in the lower economic class you will not receive the best healthcare
possible. This is not good because the system was developed to provide the best healthcare to
Australians with no discrimination at all as it provides subsidies through Medicare (Carayon, et

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al. , 2006). The next challenge is that the world and specifically is urbanizing really fast. With
urbanization, there is the advent of new health challenges which when the system was developed
could not have predicted. Hence the system cannot efficiently solve these issues. Issues like
increased rates of obesity and increased suicide rates cannot be efficiently handled by a system
developed when these issues did not exist (Leape, et al. , 2009). Another challenge is that there is
no clear way for there to develop a system to balance funding of the system. As funding is given
by both the public and private sector, it has not been established on howmuch each should give
so that no one side should strain to provide funds. Thus when there is lack of this it will affect
the quality of health care services delivered to the people because of the tussles between the two
sectors (Goodman, &Grumbach, 2008).
The next challenge is that the Australian health system of late has been experiencing
problems and issues in recruiting and supplying the health workforce. Thus there will be lack of
personnel to deliver healthcare treatment to the population. If there are no people to be recruited
it will affect the quality of care received because there are few people to ensure the system runs
efficiently (Lee, et al. , 2014). Also, the health workforce is not equally distributed in Australia.
Some areas have more healthcare practitioners in the hospitals while others have a deficit of
them. This will result in individuals not getting similar quality healthcare thus it will make it
seem that some people are being discriminated (Nykänen, &Karimaa, 2006). Also, there is
growing concern about the safety and quality of healthservices found in Australia. There is a
deficiency of policies that exist to control the quality of care given by healthcare facilities in the
country. Hence, the services provided might not be the best of quality because they do not have
policies to regulate them. The next issue with the system is that there is a high number of people
admitted with conditions which could have been prevented with the right steps. The institutions

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tasked with managing and researching upcoming issues are slacking. Also, there is lack of good
primary care and public interventions (Kovats, &Hajat, 2008).
Conclusion.
In conclusion, the Australian health system has been developed with a lot of factors in
mind. These factors have influenced the design of the system and what functions it fulfills. It
fulfills a lot of functions with the aim of providing the best healthcare possible to Australians.
There is a whole mode of governance that manages the system ensuring it functions efficiently.
However, it still faces various challenges while fulfilling its functions. Thus, more research
needs to be done to find remedies to these issues. Once the remedies are implemented it will
increase the efficiency of the whole Australian system.