Australia’s healthcare system needs to become less complicated to cater for a population that is increasingly susceptible to chronic diseases, a new report from the OECD says.
A major issue in Australia is the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, like heart disease and diabetes.
Contributing to that trend is the growing issue of obesity in Australia.
Australia’s obesity rate among adults is already higher than the average for OECD countries.
"While adult obesity rates have been rising in every OECD country, Australia’s rate is among the highest," the report found.
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To respond to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, Australia needs to strengthen its primary healthcare system it said.
“Australia is fortunate to benefit from a long-established tradition of general practice doctors.”
“Australia ranks highly among OECD countries in the extent to which this category of professionals is a major part of the medical workforce."
“This tradition provides Australia with a natural leader in the supervision and provision of primary care and a focal point through which care can be co-ordinated.”
However, the OECD report highlights another challenge for Australia: multiple layers of bureaucracy between the federal government and state and territory governments, which it argues are a source of unnecessary complication.
“Australia’s health system functions remarkably well, despite operating under a complex set of institutions that make co-ordinating patient care difficult," it stated.
Australia's public hospitals are mostly under the control of state and territory governments, who also run some primary healthcare services, while the GP system is managed through the federal government.
“This fragmented health care system can disrupt the continuity of patient care, lead to a duplication of services and leave gaps in care provision."
Recommendations in the report include: the federal government should take on a steering role for health services, and Australia should build an ecosystem around GPs to improve the coordination of patient care, and promote GPs’ roles as co-ordinators of primary health care.
The OECD’s paper is one of a series of individual reports that focus on member countries.
