HHD SAC 2

Chapter 10, 11

General Practitioners (GP)

• Doctor with wide range of skills, looking after health of individuals in community, etc Infants- Elderly.

  • Helps with: Feeling Unwell, Injury, preventative measures etc, vaccines

    • Prescribe medications

    • Write referrals

    • Refer Patients to other health services, etc Pathology

How can General Practitioners increase Health Literacy

• Can be increased by: asking questions, seeking info/ advice from GP.

• Helps by:

  • Provides knowledge about health condition/ s

  • Provides understanding of skills in managing their own health

Allied Health Services: How it can Increase health literacy

• Describes health professionals outside medical, dental, and nursing professions

  • etc, Counseling/ psychology, Chiropractic, Optometry, Pharmacy.

• Often feels less formal/ more relaxed/ youth friendly than GP clinics.

  • Increases likelihood of young people seeking help to maintain health & wellbeing.

Alternative Health Services

• Healthcare that can be used instead of/ alongside traditional healths services.

  • etc, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, Massage therapy, Yoga/ Pilates, Chinese traditional medicine.

Medicare/ What it covers

• Australia’s universal health insurance scheme, aiming to provide access to affordable basic healthcare.

  • Covers all Australian permanent residents/ people from countries with reciprocal agreements.

• Covers: Consultation fees, X-Rays, Eye testing, cost of public hospitals.

• Not Covers: Ambulance services, Dental procedures, Cost of cosmetic/ unnecessary procedure, Home nursing.

Schedule Fee/ Out of pocket expenses (the gap)/ Bulk Billing

• Schedule Fee: Amount set by federal government for each medical services

• Out of pocket expenses (The Gap): Many doctors charge more than the schedule fee, therefore may still have to pay out of pocket expenses.

• Bulk Billing: When doctor accepts the Medicare benefit (scheduled fee) as full payment for the services covered.

How is medicare funded

• Through General taxation, as the medicare levy is an additional 2 percent tax placed on the taxable income of most taxpayers.

  • Medicare levy surcharge = additional 1 -1.5% tax placed on income of people without private health insurance who earn an income of around $ 90, 000/ $180, 000 for families

Advantages/ disadvantages of Medicare

• Advantages:

  • Reduced cost for essential medical services

  • Available to all Australian citizens

• Disadvantages:

  • Waiting list for many treatments

  • Often does not cover full amount/ cost of a doctor’s visit

Pharmaceuticals Benefit Scheme (PBS)/ Copayment

• Aims to provide essential medicines to people who need them at a government subsidised price.

  • Available to all Australian residents who hold a medicare card.

• Occurs through Co-payment process: people pay certain amount for PBS medicines, while governments pay the remaining costs.

PBS Safety Net

Ensures that people who spend a large amount of money through pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS) receive additional support.

• etc, once spend approx. $1600 within calendar year, will then only spend a concessional co payment rate of $7.70 (reduced cost)

National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and what it can fund

• Government insurance scheme, providing funding, services and support to eligible Australians with a permanent/ or significant disability to live as independently/ fully as possible.

  • Transport

  • Home/ Vehicle modifications

  • Daily activities/ in home care

Doctors, Dentists, Hospitals/ Maternal and Child Health Services: as local community services

• Doctors, Dentists, Hospitals: Most communities = access to range of medical services such as GPs, Clinics and Specialists.

  • Benefits people’s physical/ Mental health & Wellbeing.

• Maternal and Child Health Services: Provided by Victorian government, and reinforced by local councils to support health & wellbeing of children from birth - 3.5

  • Benefits Mental/ Emotional/ Physical health & wellbeing of families and children

Sporting and Recreational clubs/ Headspace: as local community services

• Sporting/ Recreation: Provide outlets for Social/ Physical H & W through physical activity and social connection.

  • Learn resilience/ appropriate expression of emotions through winning and losing matches (Emotional H&W)

• Headspace: National Youth Health Foundation, providing health services to 12-25 years. etc, access to GPs, social workers, psychologists, at free - low costs.

  • Benefits Mental H&W by reducing anxiety/ stress, lowering mental health disorders.

Places of Worship/ Volunteer Organisations: as local community services

Places of Worship: Improves Spiritual/ Emotional H&W by providing people with a sense of belonging/ purpose as well as emotional support from places of worship, etc. church

• Can additionally promote social H&W through community organisation.

Voluntary Organisations: etc. Saint Johns Ambulance Australia is an organisation dedicating for caring for Australians who are sick, distressed, suffering or in danger at large public events.

• Benefits spiritual H&W

Secondary School Immunisation programs : as local community services

• Offers free vaccinations as part of the National Immunisation program. In Victoria local councils administer the majority of youth Vaccinations through secondary schools.

  • Provides convenient access to immunisations without going to the GP, decreasing likelihood of disease - Increases physical H&W

Australian Charter of Healthcare rights

• Outlines rights of patients, consumers and other people using the Australian healthcare system.

  • Aims= Allows patients, families, carers and service providers to have a common understanding of the rights of people receiving healthcare.

Acess/ Safety/ Respect/ Communication : Healthcare rights

• Access: Right to access healthcare services that address personal healthcare needs.

• Safety: Right to safe, high quality, health services provided with professional care, skill and competence.

• Respect: Right for care provided to show respect to individual’s culture/ beliefs/ values.

• Communication: Right to open, timely and appropriate communication in a way they understand.

Partnership/ Privacy/ Comments : Healthcare rights

• Partnership: Right to join in making decisions/ choices about personal care.

• Privacy: Right to personal privacy that is maintained, while handling of personal health and other info is assured.

• Comment: Right to comment/ complain about care, and have concerns dealt with properly/ promptly.

Medical confidentiality/ Privacy

• Medical Confidentiality: Set of rules that anything discussed between a doctor and patient must be kept private.

• Privacy: What a patient tells their doctor, any info doctor’s store, medication prescribed is kept private.

  • Exceptions =

  • Patient H&W/ safety is seriously threatened

  • Info will reduce / prevent a serious threat to public health and safety.

Confidentiality: how might it affect access to health services

• Concerns/ worries that healthcare practitioners will disclose private info to their parents/ someone else, or that someone will see them at the clinic or in the waiting room.

• Making your less likely to assess health services.

Geographical location: how might it affect access to health services

• Youth in Rural/ Remote regions have more difficulties accessing health services compared to those living in cities due to large distance between where they live and doctors/ hospitals.

• Remote areas = more likely to have absence of medical technologies for diagnosis/ treatment.

Cost: how might it affect access to health services

• Average cost for a GP consult = approx. $72 with a rebate of $40. 

• For specialists, dentists and allied health services out of pocket expenses can be at a greater cost with little cover by medicare. Youth/ Adults less likely to afford these services and prescribed medications on minimum wage.

• Although Private health insurance can speed up waiting times for specialists/ surgeries it is expensive and often unaffordable for youth. 

Schedule and time constraints: how might it affect access to health services

• Youth who attend school/ or work find it difficult to access health services/ scheduled appointments during the day. While extracurricular activities make it difficult to access health services outside of typical hours.

• While Inflexible clinic hours and long waiting times may also act as a barrier.

Complicated and complex health system and health literacy: how might it affect access to health services

• Process of booking appointments, using medicare card, and referral processes may make healthcare system hard to navigate for youth. 

• While formality of clinic/ waiting room may make Youth reluctant to attend.

• Youth have lower health literacy: meaning they face greater difficulties accessing and understanding health information. Also making them less likely to partake in preventative health measures.

Cultural factors: how might it affect access to health services

• language Barriers, religious beliefs, values and expectations of health services can impact access.

• Language Barriers= limits access to medical services/ the ability to understand health information. While additionally it may influence whether individuals feel safe/ or if that clinic is culturally appropriate.

• Parents with language barrier may also struggle to assist youth in gaining the health info they need.