Taking the temperature of Australian health care
This week on Policy Forum Pod, Clare Skinner and Lesley Russell join us to explore where the opportunities exist for meaningful reform of Australia’s healthcare system, especially in emergency medicine.
What factors have contributed to Australia’s healthcare system being under-funded, under-resourced, under-staffed, and sometimes under-valued? Is the current funding model still fit for purpose as patients’ requirements become increasingly complex? And where should the government start when it comes to widescale reform? On this episode of Policy Forum Pod, Dr Clare Skinner and Dr Lesley Russell join Professor Sharon Bessell and Dr Arnagretta Hunter to discuss why Australia’s healthcare system is on the brink of crisis and what policymakers can do to address the challenges the sector faces. Listen here.
Dr Clare Skinner is President of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, the not-for-profit organisation responsible for training emergency physicians and advancement of professional standards in emergency medicine, and a Senior Staff Specialist in Emergency Medicine.
Dr Lesley Russell is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Menzies Centre for Health Policy at the University of Sydney. She was a health policy adviser to the federal Australian Labor Party and as health policy adviser on the Energy and Commerce Committee in the United States House of Representatives. She was also a Senior Policy Adviser to the US Surgeon-General during the Obama Administration.
Arnagretta Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at ANU College of Health and Medicine, a cardiologist, physician, and a Senior Clinical Lecturer at ANU Medical School.
Sharon Bessell is Professor of Public Policy and Director of both the Children’s Policy Centre and the Poverty and Inequality Research Centre at ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.
Show notes | The following were mentioned during this episode:
‘The health system we have right now in Australia is not normal, not fair and not safe’, Clare Skinner, Croakey (2022)
‘Tackling the Emergency Department crisis: Some “what if?” scenarios’, Lesley Russel, Pearls and Irritations (2019)
‘At a time of looming crisis, a vision for health system transformation’, Clare Skinner, Croakey (2020)
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