The Development and Growth of the Australian Health System - Case Study Example

HEALTHCARE SYSTEM COMPARISON Name: Institution Affiliation: HEALTHCARE SYSTEM COMPARISON Typically, United States of America has the most expensive and comprehensive healthcare system in the world. This is mainly based on the health expenditure per person. On the other hand, other several factors make the system far much ahead. Some of these factors include healthcare infrastructure, competent personnel, advanced equipment’s, and comprehensive health research foundations. However, the Australian health care system is not far off as compared to the US. There are several similarities in the current healthcare system. As well, there are some significant differences. Thus, the paper focuses on explicating major issues and aspects that depict these similarities and differences. The report can be used in assessing the level at which the development and growth that the Australian health system has reached. As a result, it plays a vital role in improving some of the key areas so as to reach the level of US’s health system(Docteur& Berenson, 2009). One of the most the most crucial aspect of comparison is the spending in the healthcare sector. According to Squires “among the 12 countries, the U.S. differs markedly on some health system measures.1 Healthcare expenditure in the U.S. in 2008 towered over the comparison countries, both per capita and as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP)” (Squires, 2011). These are the result of the findings conducted in twelve countries. These countries included Australia, Canada, France, Germany and other countries. The table below shows how health spending compares between the two nations. TOTAL HEALTH SPENDING Per capitac Percent GDP Average annual real growth rate per capita: 1998–2008 AUSTRALIA $3,353a 8.5%a 3.6%a UNITED STATES $7,538 16.0% 3.4% (Squires, 2011) The above table clearly indicates that healthcare spending in Australia is substantially lower as compared to the United States. This shows that Australia is spending little amount of money per person. Besides, Australia is spending 8.5 percent of its GDP on health care sector. This is another clear variation since United States of America spends 16 percent of its GDP on health care sector. However, there is one similarity in the spending. The average annual real growth rate per capita between 1998 and 2008 are closely related. The annual growth rate grew by 3.4 percent in Australia which is slightly lower as compared to the rate of United States at 3.6 percent(Flood, 2001). The next table shows Health Care Expenditure per Capita by Source of Funding, 2008Adjusted for Differences in Cost of Living between the two nations. Public spending Private Spending Out-of-pocket spending AUSTRALIA 2263 484 605 USA 3507 3119 912 (Squires, 2011) The above table shows that there is a minimal difference in public spending between the two nations. However, the big difference comes in the private spending sector. Australia has been depicted to have very low private spending rates as compared to the US. The next table shows the variation in the Hospital Spending per Discharge, 2008Adjusted for Differences in Cost of Living. DOLLARS AUSTRALIA 7729 USA 16708 (Squires, 2011) Another critical area that has depicted a lot of difference is the spending on drugs. Research reveals that Australia spends minimal as compared to the US. One of the main reasons is that the population of the two countries is substantially different. Several people are living in the United States. As a result, several health institutions have been constructed. All these medical organizations require drugs. On the other hand, the healthcare centers available in Australia are few. Purchasing drugs to be used in these centers, therefore, is substantially lower. Thus, this brings out the variation in the drug utilization and spending. The other aspect of difference associated with cost is the quality of healthcare. Several people think that America provides the best quality healthcare services across the globe. However, to come up with a substantial conclusion, it is imperative to understand the meaning of quality care. According to Docteur and Berenson, quality care is described as “the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes and are consistent with current professional knowledge” ((Docteur& Berenson, 2009).). This is a clear indication that there are various issues to consider. However, there is another definition of quality healthcare that is widely used in the healthcare industry. Quality health care means doing the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right person and having the best results possible.” Therefore, it is imperative to note that the quality of healthcare in the US is higher as compared to Australia. Several factors have led to this variation. Firstly, the availability of resources plays a crucial role. There are several hospitals and other healthcare facilities in the US. These institutions have modern machines that facilitate quality health care. As well, they have competent doctors, nurses, and other personnel. All these factors ensure that the quality of service delivery is substantially high. In comparison to Australia, there are several variations. Firstly, the number of healthcare institutions such as hospitals and others is lower. Secondly, these hospitals are not well equipped. They don’t have high technology equipment’s that are currently on the market. This is because these modern machines are very expensive to purchase, install and maintain. However, some few hospitals can afford these machines in Australia. Finally, these hospitals lack competent and qualified employees. These include doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. The primary reason for this is because this personnel is sourced domestically (Anderson, 2006). This is in contrast to America where doctors, nurses and other professionals are sourced all over the world. This leads to the variation in the quality of the health care provider between the two nations. Berenson and Docteurassert that “When comparing the quality of care in the United States to that of other countries it is impossible to ignore one stark difference — the fact that close to one-fifth of the U.S. population under age 65 is uninsured” (Docteur& Berenson, 2009). This is a clear indication that several people are not insured in the US. This is similar to Australia. Most people are not covered by insurance. There are several reasons for this lack of insurance cover. Firstly, several people are living below the poverty level. Therefore, they cannot afford to subscribe to the available insurance covers. Secondly, people lack information(Flood, 2001). Several people do not understand the meaning and benefits of being insured by health covers. Therefore, to there is a substantial need to create awareness. This will enable people to comprehend the advantages of being insured. As well, this will go a long way in improving their health standards. According to OCDE Health Statistics “Unlike in many other OECD countries health; spending in Australia has hardly been affected by the economic crises. In 2011-2012, health spending in Australia had gone up by over 5% in real terms compared to a 1% increase on average across OECD countries”(Squires, 2011). This is one of the most significant similarities between the two nations. Australian health care system is rarely affected by fluctuations in the market or economic crises. This is the same case for the United States of America healthcare system. Several reasons ensure this occurs. One of the most common reasons is political stability. Political instability substantially affects the economy of the nation. For instance, it leads to increased prices of goods and commodities (Anderson, 2006). This results in increased costs of drugs and other resources used in the healthcare sector. However, this has not happened in the two nations. Therefore, the economy has enabled the healthcare industry to blossom in both countries. As a result, several improvements have been made instead. For instance, several drugs have been purchased and distributed to numerous healthcare institutions. This has led to the increased health care and service delivery between the two countries. In conclusion, it is clear that there are a lot of differences between the two nations’ healthcare systems. The United States of America is considered as the global leader in the healthcare sector. Therefore, it is imperative that Australia emulates the strategies used to achieve this success. For instance, statistics clearly indicated that there a substantial difference in the quality of service delivery. The services provided in the US are of high tech and standards. Thus, Australia should emulate this. One of the most significant ways of achieving this is to increase their spending on the sector. They should invest more in the sector. Thus, the money will be used to purchase high-tech health care facilities, build more healthcare institutions, but more drugs, and employee competent healthcare professionals. As a result, the quality of healthcare services will substantially be enhanced. References Anderson, G. F., Frogner, B. K., Johns, R. A., & Reinhardt, U. E. (2006).Health care spending and use of information technology in OECD countries. Health Affairs, 25(3), 819-831. Altman, S., & Jackson, T. (2001). Health care in Australia: lessons from down under. Health Affairs, 10(3), 129-146. Squires, D. A. (2011). The US health system in perspective: a comparison of twelve industrialized nations. Issue Brief (Commonwealth Fund), 16, 1-14. Docteur, E., & Berenson, R. A. (2009). How Does the Quality of Health Care Compare Internationally?. Timely Analysis of Immediate Health Policy Issues, a series of policy briefs produced by the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Flood, C. (2001). Profiles of six health care systems: Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Parliament of Canada, Toronto, Canada. Read More