Health

Response to Position Paper 'Simplifying medical treatment decision making and advance care planning"

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) is pleased to make a submission in response to Position Paper 'Simplifying medical treatment decision making and advance care planning" released by the Department of Health and Human Services for feedback.

Please follow this link to read the submission.

Research Priorities for the MRFF: Australian Medical Research and Innovation Two Year Priorities

Catholic Health Australia (CHA) has identified evidence-based holistic models of care for end-of-life and chronic disease, including mental health, as major gaps in Australia’s health system. To deliver this, structural reform through embedding research into health service delivery must be supported. Although a key recommendation of the Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research (the McKeon review), this has largely not happened. Health service research underpins our ability to identify unwarranted variation in the quality, efficacy and efficiency of healthcare delivery as well as to ensure that scarce resources are optimally allocated. A self-learning/improving healthcare system can only be delivered through investment in people dedicated to this task using key infrastructure including clinical registries and clinical trial capabilities.

Please follow this link to read the submission.

Strategies for the MRFF: Australian Medical Research and Innovation Five Year Strategy

Strategies for the MRFF

Australian Medical Research and Innovation Five Year Strategy

CHA considers that important gaps exist in both Australia’s approach to health and medical research. The MRFF provides a unique opportunity to fund health sector identified priority areas in a manner that addresses these gaps.

Current gaps include insufficient:

- Funding to support both research projects and core infrastructure including clinical trial capabilities, clinical registries (that enhance the existing hospital based Safety and quality activities)

- Funding for core clinical research support staff such as those running the registries and undertaking clinical trials.

- Funding for hospital-based clinical staff to ensure they have stable financial support to allow them to undertake research as a part of and not separate to their clinical responsibilities.

- Funding for multi-disciplinary teams to ensure outcomes are person-centred and holistic.

Please follow this link to read the submission.

CHA's submission to the Private Health Insurance Review

CHA's submission to the Private Health Insurance Review

CHA welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the Government’s consultation on private health insurance regulation. Private health insurance plays an important role in Australia’s health care system, particularly in funding the 40% of hospital episodes that take place in the private sector, as well as in providing cover for a range of community based health services including dental, optical and physio-therapy services.

At the end of September 2015, over 11.3 million people or around 47.3% of the population were covered for hospital treatment; and around 13.3 million people or 55.8% of the population were covered for general treatment. The proportion of the population with private health insurance has been relative stable (albeit with a slight increase) since the rapid increase in membership in 1999 and 2000.

Rising premiums, reductions to subsidy support and the increasing proportion of policies with exclusions are acting to reduce the value proposition for those who hold private health insurance. Therefore it is timely to review the regulatory and funding framework supporting private health insurance.

Please follow this link to read the submission.

CHA's recent submission on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review

CHA's recent submission on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review

Our members broadly welcome the Government’s undertaking of this review – noting that many MBS items have not been reviewed since the introduction of Medicare in 1984.

The MBS is a vital component of Medicare and it is important to ensure that it is able to continue to provide Australians with access to necessary care where and when they need it.

The commitment of our members to social justice and concern for the most vulnerable means that we will be concerned to ensure that changes to the MBS do not make it harder for the sickest and most vulnerable to continue to be able to access timely, high quality care.

CHA also believes that the conduct of the MBS Review needs to take account of the wider context within which the delivery of health services takes place.

Please follow this link to read the submission.

CHA's response to Version 2 of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards

CHA's response to Version 2 of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards

Catholic Health Australia’s response to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) consultation on Version 2 of the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.

Design of Version 2 of the NSQHS standards better reflects the patient journey, and is better suited for quality improvement, which is an important development from Version 1. CHA supports further consultation, with guides provided, towards the development of an improved version of the NSQHS standards that can be practically implemented in all forms of health services regardless of resources.

Please follow this link to read the submission.

Letter to the Minister for Health: Impacts of loss of funding through the National Perinatal Depression Initiative (NPDI)

Letter to the Minister for Health: Impacts of loss of funding through the National Perinatal Depression Initiative (NPDI)

Catholic Health Australia's submission to the Hon. Sussan Ley MP, Minister for Health, outlining impacts directly associated to loss of funding through the National Perinatal Depression Initiative (NPDI). CHA is seeking restoration of NPDI funding, concerned about the impact loss of funding will have on vulnerable patients entering early parenting servives, their children and their families.

Please follow this link to read the submission.

CHA submission to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) regarding Assisted Reproductive Technology

CHA submission to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) regarding Assisted Reproductive Technology

Catholic Health Australia's recent submission to the NHMRC entitled "Draft ethical guidelines on the use of Assisted Reproductive Technology in Clinical Practice and Research (Parts A and B) - NHMRC Draft Guidelines". This submission answers the NHMRC's request for consultation on the draft guidelines from a Catholic perspective, consistent with the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services.

Please follow this link to read the submission.