HSH211 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Community Health, Plant Community, Government Spending
Introduction to the Australian health care system
Systems thinking
Understanding a defined system and examining the linkages and interactions between the
components that comprise of a system. It is important to understand how a system interacts and
influences change
'Real life is lived in a complex world system where all the subsystems overlap and affect each other'
Simple system
• Idea and evidence
• Strategy
• Action
• Measures of change
• Outcome
Complex system
Eg. The ecosystem and how different components of the ecosystem influence and interrelate to
each other
• Plant community
• Habitat
• Minerals
• Nutrients
• Weather
• Disturbances
Health system- building blocks
Health system
• 'All the activities whose primary purpose is to promote, restore and/or maintain health'
• 'The people, institutions and resources, arranged together in accordance with established
policies, to improve the health of the population they serve, while responding to peoples
legitimate expectations and protecting them against the cost of ill-health through a variety of
activities whose primary intent is to improve health
Building blocks of the health system
Service delivery- What services the systems provide
Health workforce- The number and types of health practitioners who make up the system
Information systems- The technologies that record and produce data, store information and keep
the system working
Access to essential health care and medicines- The PBS, vaccines and technologies
Health financing- Medicare, health budgets, the private sector
Leadership and governance- How we manage the health system, federalism and the states
Interrelationships between the building blocks
Levels of systems
Macro-level (Systematic issues)
This is the high level where decisions about public policy and resource allocation are made
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Meso-level (Groups and communities)
Middle level where people live, work and play and communities where services are located. At this
level, we can see how well health systems perform and the effects of public policy and resource
allocation
Micro-level (Intra and interpersonal)
The level where health and social systems interact with individuals and families. It is peoples
experience that tell us how well the macro and meso levels are functioning and how well services
are managed
Core measures of health system performance
Using these measures we can asses how well health and social care systems are doing at each level
of system
• Effectiveness
• Efficiency
• Accessibility
• Responsiveness
• Equity
Health as a public good
The achievement of a healthy population is considered to be a public good. In turn, the system
which produces the services that create health, and which benefit everyone in the community is also
considered to be a public good.
Characteristics of a public good
• Public goods have value because they benefit communities/societies as a whole beyond any
purchase price paid for those goods
• Public goods often require large initial investment costs that are generally too expensive for
any individual or private corporation to afford and earn a reasonable return
• Public goods require a higher level of administration that any individual or company can
arrange
• Public goods have value that accrues over time and is difficult to price
Public and private health services in Australia
Levels of care
Primary care- First point of care with the health system (Doctor, dentist, pharmacist)
Secondary care- Health care service provided by specialist upon primary care referral (Allied health
specialists, hospital services)
Tertiary care- Highly specialised care upon referral by a primary or secondary professional
Public health care system
• Public hospitals
• Medicare
• Pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS)
This system is provided by all three levels of government: Local, state and federal.
Public hospitals
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Understanding a defined system and examining the linkages and interactions between the components that comprise of a system. It is important to understand how a system interacts and influences change. "real life is lived in a complex world system where all the subsystems overlap and affect each other" The ecosystem and how different components of the ecosystem influence and interrelate to each other: plant community, habitat, minerals, nutrients, weather, disturbances. "all the activities whose primary purpose is to promote, restore and/or maintain health" Health workforce- the number and types of health practitioners who make up the system. Information systems- the technologies that record and produce data, store information and keep the system working. Access to essential health care and medicines- the pbs, vaccines and technologies. Health financing- medicare, health budgets, the private sector. Leadership and governance- how we manage the health system, federalism and the states.
