The Concept of Equity of Access in the Australian Healthcare System
The Australian health care system is founded on the concept of equity of access. Discuss this statement with relation to the concepts of effectiveness and efficiency and any interrelationships that may exist.
Introduction
Equity of access, as stated in National Health Reform Agreement, is one of the fundamental bases of the Australian Health care system (DHA 2013a). Other elementary aspects of the Australian health care system also cover effectiveness, which focuses on ratio of outputs to outcomes, and efficiency, which is defined as achieving maximum outputs with available inputs or resources. Those three represent ideal health system, which should be effective and efficient, and able to achieve the specified outcomes (efficacy) in a way that maximises access (distribution), outputs (productivity) and outcomes within the available resources (NHHRC 2009, p. 4). This essay will cover the concepts of equity of access, effectiveness, and efficiency in the several elements of Australian health care system and also discuss occurring interrelationships among those concepts.
Equity
Equity in health -interpreted by the WHO as “the absence of avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically”- is indeed a principal objective of healthcare system globally (WHO 2013; AIHW 2012a, p. 49). In the same fashion, accessibility is defined as the possibility with which consumers or patients can obtain proper health services at the appropriate place and time regardless of socioeconomic, geographic, and racial barriers (Harris, Harris & Roland 2004, p. 21; AIHW 2012a, p. 30). Australian government has a great compassion to ensure that access to effective and high quality health services is obtainable by all of Australians. One of the government earliest attempts is the introduction of the Medicare, a publicly financed universal health coverage scheme for all Australians,
Introduction
Equity of access, as stated in National Health Reform Agreement, is one of the fundamental bases of the Australian Health care system (DHA 2013a). Other elementary aspects of the Australian health care system also cover effectiveness, which focuses on ratio of outputs to outcomes, and efficiency, which is defined as achieving maximum outputs with available inputs or resources. Those three represent ideal health system, which should be effective and efficient, and able to achieve the specified outcomes (efficacy) in a way that maximises access (distribution), outputs (productivity) and outcomes within the available resources (NHHRC 2009, p. 4). This essay will cover the concepts of equity of access, effectiveness, and efficiency in the several elements of Australian health care system and also discuss occurring interrelationships among those concepts.
Equity
Equity in health -interpreted by the WHO as “the absence of avoidable or remediable differences among groups of people, whether those groups are defined socially, economically, demographically, or geographically”- is indeed a principal objective of healthcare system globally (WHO 2013; AIHW 2012a, p. 49). In the same fashion, accessibility is defined as the possibility with which consumers or patients can obtain proper health services at the appropriate place and time regardless of socioeconomic, geographic, and racial barriers (Harris, Harris & Roland 2004, p. 21; AIHW 2012a, p. 30). Australian government has a great compassion to ensure that access to effective and high quality health services is obtainable by all of Australians. One of the government earliest attempts is the introduction of the Medicare, a publicly financed universal health coverage scheme for all Australians,
References: Hollingsworth, B 2008, ‘The measurement of efficiency and productivity of health care delivery’, Health Economics, vol. 17, pp. 1107-1128. Macinko, J, Starfield, B & Shi, J 2003, ‘The contribution of primary care systems to health outcomes within Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, 1970–1998’, Health Services Research, vol. 38, no. 3.