Health Care in Australia - Essay Example

Short). Be that as it may, anomalies exist in the health care system in Australia. The health care spread is uneven in Australia due to disparities in social and economic levels. The health scenario in the rural areas and place where indigenous populations live is not what it is in the urban areas. There are several reasons for this. The four key challenges to Australia's health systems are affordability of services, expansion of the health workforce to meet the needs of older population, treatment of chronic disease in the community instead of in hospitals, and the integration of complex services in care delivery (Health And The 2007 Federal Elections).

The cost of health care is quite high in Australia. There have been attempts to integrate medical care with economy. Most researchers agree that social and economic conditions such as levels of education, types of work, and rates of unemployment, affect population health. A report produced by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found that more than 23,000 lives could have been saved in 1998-2000 if the poorest 80 percent of the population had access to the same living conditions and quality of care as the wealthiest 20 percent.

In the same period, that is, 1998-2000, the richest males and females lived 3.9 years and 2 years longer respectively than the poorest. The gulf between the rich and the poor is widening. Data from 1985-87 and 1998-2000 reveal that mortality inequality between the rich and the poor increased for all causes and almost doubled for cancers and cardiovascular disease (Karen Holland).Australia's health economy is expanding. However, despite this expansion the health care system is unable to deliver appropriate and timely care to Australians.

There is continuing concern about waiting lists for surgical procedures and specialists consultations in public hospitals, long waiting times in the private sector for particular specialties and increasing disparities between the delivery of care in major centers and in the rural sector. The problem lies in the multiplicity of organizations that administer and fund the health sector, outdated industrial practices, and lack of willingness on the part of any of these groups to reorganize in order to provide more efficient services.

A recent World Health Organization report estimated that there would be a global shortage of over four million doctors, nurses, midwives and other health workers over the next decade. This shortage is felt in health force in Australia too. The health workforce currently makes up just over 11% of the total workforce in Australia. The number should increase to around 20% (Peter Brooks and Niki Ellis).Aging population in Australia today poses significant problems to the healthcare system. The challenge is to move to an appropriate health care system for the 65 plus population with chronic disease.

The Australian health system is struggling to care for this section of the population in an appropriate, cost-effective and timely manner (From Episodic Treatment To Chronic