Health Ministers receive early Christmas gift: blueprint maps out how to give Australians a 21st century health system

Monday, December 18, 2017

‘We’re giving Health Ministers an early Christmas gift’, said Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA) Chief Executive Alison Verhoeven.

‘Over the past nine months Australian health leaders mapped out how to transform our healthcare system into a fit for purpose 21st century system that will meet the needs and expectations of Australians.

Healthy people, healthy systems is a solid blueprint with a range of short, medium and long term recommendations on how to reorientate our healthcare system to focus on patient outcomes and value rather than throughput and vested interests.

‘In 2018 Health Ministers and First Ministers will negotiate and agree new public hospital funding arrangements—if Ministers are committed to a healthy Australia supported by the best possible healthcare system they simply need to direct their health departments to begin rolling out the recommendations found in the blueprint.

‘Health Ministers must be more ambitious than agreeing what public hospital funding arrangements will look like after 2020. The health sector is adamant it's time we move our system toward value-based care and away from more of the same and tinkering around the edges.

‘To do this we outline four steps with recommendations on governance arrangements, data and reporting that drives intelligent system design, health workforce reform and sustainable funding that is dependable yet innovative.

‘An independent national health authority distinct from Commonwealth, state and territory health departments  reporting directly to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) or the COAG Health Council would help take the politics and finger pointing out of health reform and allow for a nationally unified and regionally controlled health system.

‘Requiring all health service providers delivering government funded or reimbursed services to supply data on patient outcomes and other service provision dimensions will better inform system performance and help us move toward publicly available outcomes data that will empower patients to make informed choices about treatment options and providers.

‘A national health workforce reform strategy is required that goes beyond the supply and location of health practitioners and considers roles and responsibilities needed to achieve a health workforce that is flexible, competent, working to the top of their scope of practice, and actively participating in the design and delivery of health services.

‘Maintaining current Commonwealth funding levels for public hospitals, including the growth formula, will provide sustainable and appropriate support, but we need to be more innovative in our move toward value-based care. In the short term, trialling a mixed funding formula with a 25% component for achieved health outcomes relating to the top 4 chronic diseases is a start.

‘It’s time to step out of our comfort zones and transform fragmented healthcare in Australia. The blueprint’s recommendations are a good place to start. We thank the many health leaders, clinicians and consumers who have contributed to this work.’

For more information on AHHA, see: http://ahha.asn.au

To read the Healthy people, healthy systems. Strategies for outcome-focused and value-based healthcare: a blueprint for a post-2020 national health agreement, see: http://ahha.asn.au/blueprint

The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association is the national peak body for public and not-for-profit hospitals, Primary Health Networks, and community and primary healthcare services.