Families

What does national health reform mean for families?

Australian families will benefit from national health reform—whether it is from being able to contact a doctor for a sick child at night or being able to access personal health information online.

National health reform is designed to deliver better hospitals and improved primary care, preventive health and mental health services. It will also deliver more doctors, more nurses and more hospital and aged care beds. These are all benefits that improve the health and wellbeing of families.

Families will also be able to make more informed choices about their health care because more information about health services will be available locally.

Improved transparency, standards and performance across the hospital, health and aged care systems will give families peace of mind that those they care about are receiving a high standard of care, and that they are receiving the most appropriate care.

For the first time, families will be able to access nationally comparable performance data and information on their local hospitals and health services.

The MyHospitals website now connects families to clear and accessible information on more than 900 hospitals, including 180 private hospitals. The site contains information on bed numbers, patient admissions and hospital accreditation, as well as the types of specialised services each hospital provides. The website also provides comparisons to national public hospital performance statistics on waiting times for elective surgery and emergency department care, where data are available. The information on the site will be built on over time.

Medicare Locals will develop information on local health services and their availability in local communities. Access to information on health care services in local regions will improve access to treatment when and where families need it and make it easier for families to access different parts of the health system.

From July 2012, Australians will have the option of registering for a personally controlled electronic health record, under Australia’s new eHealth system.

Electronic records will mean patients will not have to repeat their health history at every appointment. Instead, with the patient’s permission, the doctor, hospital or other health service providers will have this information at their fingertips, and with access to the patient’s history, allowing for a quicker and more accurate diagnosis and treatment.

The personally controlled electronic health record will assist families by storing important medical data and having it available.

For example, parents with a seriously sick child will not have to remember all the details of their child’s medical history when presenting at the local health service. If a parent has to access emergency care due to their child’s chronic asthma worsening the parent may draw a blank when asked the child’s medical history because of the stress and worry. Access to an electronic health record may ease the situation.

From 1 July 2011, families will be able to use a new after hours GP telephone advice service. If family members need to speak to a GP at night or on the weekend, they will be able to call a telephone-based service that will provide medical advice and possibly help deal with a condition over the telephone. This service will benefit people living in areas with limited or no access to after hours care, and assist families who otherwise may have needed to sit in an emergency waiting room to get medical help.

This service will be an addition to the 24-hour nurse advice and information service that is already being provided by the National Health Call Centre Network (NHCCN) operating as healthdirect Australia.

Find out more about what the changes mean for communities, families and older Australians