17 Reform of the pharmaceutical benefits scheme
Pharmacists will no longer be able to keep the difference between the price paid by the government for generic drugs and the lower price charged by the manufacturer. But they…
16 The ageing population: in search of a policy
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM AND THE VARIABILITY OF STATISTICS In 2006 the proportion of the population made up of those 65 years and over was just over 13%. Notwithstanding flood, fire,…
6 Federalism and health
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM Policy problems addressed through federal–state relations in health usually centre on ‘fiscal squabbles’, ‘waiting’ and ‘waste’. ‘Fiscal squabbles’ break out between different levels of government when one…
15 Government, medical error, and problem definition
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM For this chapter, a policy problem is taken to be one that receives government’s attention and leads to responses like advocacy, reform, funding, or regulation.2 In the…
13 Dilemmas in end-of-life care: the Maria Korp case
IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM The ageing of the population and advances in medical technology have combined to create a problem in making some decisions about medical treatment. In particular, the issues…
14 The problem of failing to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare
attending isolated and remote health services) will be of a non-English speaking background. ABORIGINAL HEALTH Before continuing we wish to clarify that although the issues raised in this chapter are…
12 The problem of trust in health policy
Whether we are concerned with individuals or social systems, trust is fundamentally about expectations about the future when we cannot know the outcome or consequences of a decision to act…
11 Conflicting values in health information policy
THE PROBLEM It is unusual for a government with a majority in both houses of the Federal Parliament to have legislation temporarily abandoned after consideration by a standing committee of…
9 The health workforce: innovation, substitution and reform
community. Policy responses to be discussed include the Productivity Commission report and the subsequent Council of Australian Government (COAG) responses. Powerful health professional groups perceived several of the key recommendations…
8 Municipal public health planning policy in Victoria
THE POLICY CONTEXT In September 2001, the Department of Human Services (DHS) in the state of Victoria released the municipal public health planning (MPHP) policy framework, known as Environments for…
