Australian health review : a publication of the Australian Hospital Association
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The Asthma Management Plan (AMP) was developed by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand in 1989 to provide a more uniform approach to asthma care, aimed at reducing mortality, morbidity and emergency presentations. The AMP is often supplemented with Asthma Clinical Pathways (CPs) within the emergency department and hospital setting. ⋯ The AMP and CP were both found to have had positive influences on asthma management. However, the study illustrates that there continue to be problems with asthma management, which would be improved by a more consistent use of these instruments.
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The allocation of resources to providers and the way in which the resources are then prioritised to specific service areas and patients remain the critical ethical decisions which determine the type of health system a community receives. Health care providers will never be given enough resources to satisfy all the demands placed upon them by a community that is becoming increasingly informed and demanding. ⋯ It translates the theoretical constructs of distribution into a practical situation that arose at The Geelong Hospital. It is important to emphasise that the aim of giving the example is not necessarily to provide the right answer but rather to assist in determining what ought to be the questions.
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Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services face particular management issues as they adjust to the dominant Western paradigm of managerialism and the market model of health service provision. Their cultural orientation leads to distinctive organisational features which both advantage and disadvantages them in this environment. ⋯ However, effective community control is difficult to achieve. Services may benefit from partnerships with collaborators such as hospitals, regional health services and university departments of rural health if the partnerships are based on mutual respect and ensure that community control is retained.