Australian health review : a publication of the Australian Hospital Association
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The Access to Allied Psychological Services program was introduced as part of the Better Outcomes in Mental Health Care initiative in 2001-2002. Divisions of General Practice are funded to establish programs that allow GPs to refer patients for psychological treatments. The University of New South Wales evaluated programs run by the Southern Highlands and Illawarra Divisions of General Practice. This paper presents the findings of these evaluations. ⋯ The Access to Allied Psychological Services programs in both Divisions have proven popular. Flexibility in the program structure allows Divisions to develop a model which suits their local circumstances. There is support for ongoing Commonwealth funding and the challenge is to find the most effective and financially sustainable model of delivery for psychological services in primary care.
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The Australian health workforce has changed dramatically over the last 4 years, growing in size and changing composition. However, more changes will be needed in the future to respond to the epidemiological and demographic transition of the Australian population. ⋯ Rather, the roles of health professionals will need to change and workforce planning needs to place a stronger emphasis on issues of workforce substitution, that is, a different mix of responsibilities. This will also require changes in educational preparation, in particular an increased emphasis on interprofessional work and common foundation learning.
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This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the care coordination (CC) program operating in the Emergency Department (ED) of The Northern Hospital in improving outcomes for older people and reducing ED admissions and re-presentations. This was achieved by comparing admissions from ED to wards pre and post commencement of the CC program, and measuring patient health-related quality of life pre and post CC intervention. ⋯ Results indicate a statistically significant reduction in the proportion of patients admitted from the ED to a ward since the inception of the program, a significant difference in the mean-related quality of life scores before and after intervention by care coordination, and staff and patient satisfaction with the service. The readmission data collected in the present evaluation will serve as a baseline measure for future evaluations.
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Waiting time for public hospital care is a regular matter for political debate One political response has been to suggest that expanding private sector activity will reduce public waiting times. This paper tests the hypothesis that increased private activity in the health system is associated with reduced waiting times using secondary analysis of hospital activity data for 2001-02. Median waiting time is shown to be inversely related to the proportion of public patients. Policymakers should therefore be cautious about assuming that additional support for the private sector will take pressure off the public sector and reduce waiting times for public patients.
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Handover of patient care has been an ongoing problem within the health care sector. The process remains highly variable and there is a threat to patient safety. Despite the general belief that handover transitions in patient care have become routine, not enough attention or research has been directed at improving this period of care. ⋯ The results suggested a need for process change. Results revealed a handover process which was unstructured, informal and error prone, with the majority of doctors noting that there was no standard or formal procedure for handover. The research found that the majority of hospital doctors recognised the potential benefits of formalising and computerising this process.