Category: Health

We are finally seeing in Australia the first signs of a recognition by government of the important public health benefits of sanctioned pill testing programs.  Law enforcement alone will never overcome the problems that can arise from drug use. Much like needle and syringe programs, pill testing is a real-world response which is evidence based and rightly treats harm reduction as one of the primary objectives of drug policy.

(more…)

In the final analysis, drug policy based on prohibition fails to meet the test of fairness and justice in the lives of those most directly affected. (more…)

A careful assessment of our policy towards currently illegal drugs and our struggle with the trade in these drugs brings forth a somber but frank conclusion about the war on drugs.  It should stop.

(more…)

Policy on illicit drugs should be developed on the basis that supply can never be cut off. Production is like a balloon: squeeze it in one place, but it will only bulge out elsewhere. This applies all the way to the consumer. There is no pricking this balloon under the present prohibition regime. While we naturally focus on harm suffered in Australia, we should not lose sight of the harm which international policies cause in countries from which we source the illicit drugs consumed here. (more…)

The failure and futility of drug prohibition has been well accepted among political elites in Australia for a long time. It is time we debated the merits of regulation, combined with targeted health and social intervention, rather than blunt prohibition and punishment.  Such an approach is likely to be more effective, and fair. (more…)

At 160 prisoners per 100,000 of population, Australia’s prison rate in 2016 was more than 3 times the rate of the 1940s and 1950s.  The steep increase correlates with an increasingly repressive drug policy and the closure of mental health institutions.

(more…)

Australia has some unhappy laws which result in people using illicit drugs being severely punished. When thinking about this, one should recall laws used half a century ago to criminalise Aboriginal people who drank alcohol. (more…)

“What should I tell people about your son’s death”, asked our Minister. He was there to discuss arrangements for our son’s funeral. In my overwhelming grief it hadn’t crossed my mind, but now it immediately struck me.  Our son had died from a heroin overdose. He is now tainted with shame. We, his mum and dad will also be made to feel the shame.  Not something I ever thought my family would have to cope with. What should we do?  How should we handle this?  I need not have stressed because in an instant my husband replied in a sure but shaky voice: “Tell the truth”. (more…)

Policies around drug decriminalisation should be evidence based, recognise the need for a nuanced rather than fundamentalist approach and take account of the advances made in the field of harm reduction, not just law enforcement.  Reform measures should be premised on a mix of rights, health and community safety principles and reflect the views of a broad cross-section of society. (more…)

The War on Drugs has failed.  Not only has it failed to stem the use of illicit drugs but it has also given rise to a host of other issues, including increased crime and corruption and a higher rate of disease and death from the use of such drugs.  Reform is long overdue, including a review of alternatives to blunt prohibition.  We can learn a lot from overseas experience. (more…)

The Federal Government has finally realised that there are major problems with its implementation of the My Health Record. (more…)

Too often the issue of abortion is couched in terms of women’s rights only – “It’s my body. It’s my choice – back off!”  (more…)

Ruth Armstrong writes:

After years of relative obscurity and sluggish engagement, Australia’s attempt at transitioning the population to the use of individual digital health records via My Health Record was all anyone could talk about yesterday. (more…)

Humour touching on mental health is a delicate undertaking that can either enhance or destroy the dignity of those living with mental illness. (more…)

It is time to police family violence perpetrators as rigorously as we police terrorists. We can learn from the country’s successes in counter-terrorism work and perhaps apply some lessons to the family violence challenges. (more…)

Each year two thirds of applications for a Disability Support Pension are rejected; a rejection rate which has doubled in 8 years (Christopher Knaus, Guardian, 8 June 2018). (more…)

Class warfare has been with us forever. It could be called a fight for social justice. Indeed, it would seem to be integral to the stepwise progress we have made over centuries as we have moved to a society which outlaws overt slavery, has a moderately progressive tax system, provides a wide range of public services, and has a variety of safety nets, all combining in the aim to be a civilised society. (more…)

The heroics of Cristiano Ronaldo at the World Cup puts Portugal on the world stage. But behind the bright lights of the soccer World Cup, Portugal is leading the world in another arena: its efforts to curb drug abuse.   (more…)

Government contributions to medical fees are set out in a large book of rules. It is under review. But are rules for individual fees for individual services the way to go? Fee-for-service may be running out of date. (more…)

Without acceptance of a ten year plan and the creation of an instrument to implement that plan we will not be able to engineer the evidence based structural reforms to our health care system that will improve quality, equity and cost effectiveness. (more…)

Editor: Jennifer DoggettAuthor: Louisa Gordon (introduction by Jennifer Doggett)on: June 13, 2018In: Co-payments, health financing and costs, Healthcare and health reform

Out-of-pocket health costs (OOPs) are a major challenge facing the Australian health system.  Australians pay for a higher proportion of total health care in OOPs than do citizens of almost all OECD countries. In fact, OOPs are the third largest funder of health care in Australia, after Commonwealth and State/Territory Governments.

(more…)

Without acceptance of a ten year plan and the creation of an instrument to implement that plan, we will not be able to engineer the evidence-based structural reforms to our health care system that will improve quality, equity and cost effectiveness.  (more…)

Touted by Minister Hunt as the biggest health care reform initiative since the introduction of Medicare, the “Health Care Home” model for the better management of patients with two or more chronic diseases is floundering, beset with predictable organisational and resource inadequacies. As is so often (too often) the case with health policy initiatives, a laudable concept collapses at the implementation phase (e.g. Primary Health Networks). The boldness of the plan is not matched by the necessary resource boldness.   (more…)

A single tweet put Monday night’s Four Corners episode into perspective for me. I’d been trying to put my finger on what seemed out of kilter with the whole segment and there it was: the program had virtually ignored the bedrock of Australian health care, the public hospital system. (more…)

Prevention, out-of-pocket costs, and oral health. 
(more…)