Primary Health Care in Australia and Japan - Case Study Example

A Comparison of Primary Health Care in Australia and Japan Name Institution A Comparison of Primary Health Care in Australia and Japan Introduction The fundamental goal of health care system is to better the health for all. In achieving this goal, health care system endeavour to reduce disparities in health, organize health services and integrate health care in all sectors (Halcomb, Patterson and Davidson, 2006). Primary health care can be termed as the essential health care that is founded upon scientifically socially accepted techniques that makes health care universally accessible to people in the society. Primary health care entails all areas that engage in health including access to health services as well as lifestyle (Zeiss and Gallagher-Thompson, 2006). Primary health care involves a large number of service providers across government, non-government and private sectors. Primary health care is very different in different countries across the world. Different countries have established different primary health care system that benefits the community (Halcomb, Patterson and Davidson, 2006). This paper will compare the primary health care in Australia and Japan. It will highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the primary health care and their strengths and weakness in both countries. Primary Health Care in Australia and Japan Similarities Japan primary health care provision share some features with Australia primary health care McKinlay and Dew, 2009). Both Australia and Japan primary health care system have mandated universal coverage as every citizen has the right to receive health care. In the two countries, hospitals and other health care systems, by law, are expected to be conducted as non-profit and are managed by the physicians (Keleher, 2001). Medical fees for primary health care are regulated by the government in order to ensure that they are affordable. Japan primary health care is provided to the community through regional or national public or private hospitals and clinics and every patient have access to these facilities McKinlay and Dew, 2009). In addition, in Japan and Australia, primary health care services are aimed at specific groups including older persons, youth health, rural areas, refugees, cultural groups, child health and low socio-economic backgrounds. Moreover, primary health care services targets different health and lifestyle conditions such as sexual health, cardiovascular disease, cancer, drug abuse, mental health and obesity to name a few. In the two countries, primary health care services operate contrarily when one moves from urban to rural areas (Keleher, 2001). Specific differences relate to socio-economic situations, geography, health status, community characteristics and workforce mix. Health care services in the rural region are reliant on primary health care services (Zeiss and Gallagher-Thompson, 2006). The two countries have implemented a financing system for its primary health care services that highly emphasises on a person’s responsibility and an effort to evade moral hazards that is faced with insurance schemes when primary health care services are offered for free (Keleher, 2001). Primary health care is funded by the government and personally through an insurance scheme. Differences The primary health care in Japan offer healthcare services such as prenatal care, screening check-ups and disease control (Yasunaga et al., 2007). In Australia, primary health care plays a fundamental role. It is offered in the home or in the society-based settings including in local government setting, community health and general practices for instance, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (Zeiss and Gallagher-Thompson, 2006). The services that are offered in Australia under primary health care are treatment and management, health promotion, prevention and screening among others. Japan’s primary health care system lacks the need for family doctor (Yasunaga et al., 2007). In contrast, Australia has a primary health care system that accommodates the need for a family sector. Australia has a strong system that trains family doctors who are key players who offer continuous, person-centred care in the society. All the patients accommodate the 30 per cent of primary health care costs and the government take care of the remaining 70%. In addition, payment for personal medical services are provided by universal health care insurance that offers comparative equality of access with the costs decided by the government committee (Yasunaga et al., 2007). In contrast, in Australia, primary health care is catered by personal ability through insurance with minimal government involvement. Australia primary health care relies heavily on insurance cover in order for specialized services to be offered to the able people (Ikegami and Campbell, 2004). In addition, in Japan, in relation to ownership and management, most clinics are owned and managed by the physicians who preside over its operations. For profit organisations are not allowed to own a health care system. Overall, the top executive of any system that offers primary healthcare must be a physician (Ikegami and Campbell, 2004). In Australia, hospitals and clinics can be managed or operated by for-profit organisations. Generally, the cost for primary health care in Japan is quite low compared to those of Australia but utilization rates are very high (Ikegami and Campbell, 2004). Australia on the other hand offers primary health care at a higher rate and relies heavily on insurance. In contrast to Australian primary health care system, the Japanese primary health care provision is considered more loosely structured and is less functionally differentiated (Keleher, 2001). Free access is a fundamental feature in the primary health care delivery in Japan. Patients have the right to select the medical institution of their choice and both the private and public hospitals offer primary health care services at a unified cost. However, in Australia, there is no free access to health care delivery and the costs offered for primary care is not unified (Yasunaga et al., 2007). Australia Primary Health Care Strengths Australia has the ability to offer high-quality primary health care services for individuals with good insurance (Keleher, 2001). The country has a huge number of physicians and family doctors who are able to cater for the country’s population. In addition, the health care plan for the country relies on primary care providers and physicians. Just as in Japan, Australia has mandated universal coverage (Ikegami and Campbell, 2004). The health care plan for Australia emphasizes on primary care rather than hospitalization and there are limits on constructions of hospitals and clinic which have reduced competition in the healthcare sector. Weaknesses The primary health care costs are very high compared to the costs in other countries like Japan. There is fragmentation that arises from primary health care system in Australia due to the divide that exists between Commonwealth and state sponsored services (Pullen, McKinlay and Dew, 2009). In addition, there is poor coordination of health care planning and delivery with other social and welfare sectors such as insurance companies. This has led to poor service delivery and system inadequacies such as misdistribution (Pullen, McKinlay and Dew, 2009). Some hospitals in Australia have the ability handle wealthiest patients while hospitals that take care of the poor are faced with financial challenges. Japan Primary HealthCare Strengths As mentioned earlier, primary health care in Japan is designed to accommodate all citizens through the use of a mixed health care system funded by the government and the insurance which leads to low cost (Yasunaga et al., 2007). The coverage of primary health care in the country is also considered universal. Another strength of the primary health care system is that the costs are government controlled through a national fee schedule that has some limits on the overall expenditure increases. Also, all patients have the freedom to choose the physicians they want and the health institution they want (Pullen, McKinlay and Dew, 2009). This means that there is no delay for needed care.in addition, all the physicians and doctors in japan are paid the same fee for a specific procedure and the prescription drugs as well as dental care are insured. Weaknesses Japan health care system is characterized by inefficient primary care that covers over 80 per cent of health and medical problems (Ikegami and Campbell, 2004). The primary health care system is characterized by long hospital stay which is due to lack of nursing homes for very sick elderly people who tend to be taken care in regular hospitals. Medical services in Japan are fragmented and due to lack of expenditure controls, healthcare institutions may suffer from duplication of services coupled with excess capacity (Ikegami and Campbell, 2004). Financial incentives for primary health care encourage excess utilization of lab tests and prescription drugs. Normal deliveries as well as health exams in the country are not covered since preventive measures are focused more on mass screening. Conclusion Primary health care is the essential health care that is founded upon scientifically socially accepted techniques that makes health care universally accessible to people in the society. The primary health cares in japan and Australia have some similarities. For instance, the two countries have mandated universal coverage and primary health care services are aimed at specific groups including older persons, youth health, rural areas, refugees, cultural groups etc. In addition, primary health care services are different in urban and rural areas. Some differences in the primary health care in the two countries are many. Japan’s health care lack family doctors while Australia emphasizes on specialised services. Japan also offer low costs for its primary care while Australia charge high fee. Japan primary care is fragmented due to expenditure control and financial incentives for primary health care encourage over utilization of prescription drugs. 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