Introduction
At the beginning of the 21st century, primary healthcare programs directed at aboriginal populations have changed dramatically because of new policies and new treatment methods available for millions of aboriginal people. Still, primary healthcare in Australia needs effective technology and government planning to compete with other healthcare providers. Today, primary healthcare depends upon the goals and objectives of healthcare organizations and their strategic position in the market. The aim of the paper is to discuss and evaluate primary healthcare programs for aboriginals in Australia.
Description of the program
Drastic changes in government policies have caused additional turbulence in the marketplace in terms of aboriginals’ needs and their satisfaction. However, the unique concept of primary healthcare implies that the market functions almost perfectly and to the utmost satisfaction of consumers. “Indigenous PHC (particularly the community-controlled sector) in the NT has been leading the way in terms of measuring health outcomes and engaging in continuous quality improvement processes” (“Comprehensive PHC Reform” 2009). New treatment methods and new drugs allow many patients to avoid surgery and support wellness, if the healthcare clients are complaining more often than before about some specific aspects of the healthcare delivery, there appear to be a serious problem in the making. The change from illness-oriented primary healthcare model to wellness-oriented model has transformed the delivery process. The task of medical professionals is to prevent and predict illness and support wellness for diverse clients. In healthcare, communication strategies start to play a special role because they have to provide customers and right information about wellness proposed to target audience. Not only the healthcare administrators, medical staff, and stockholders but also the employers and the society as a whole are part of this far-reaching communication. Ideally, it is the same corporate entity that provides growth, innovation, and stability, in short, overall opportunity for the individuals and, therefore, for the aboriginal society as a whole (“Comprehensive PHC Reform” 2008). For aboriginal populations, the importance of the wellness message is that it should be clear and concise, understandable by a large target audience. For healthcare organizations, wellness promotional activities are extremely important, if the healthcare is not pursuing an effective overall communication policy, its losses will be more than just the cost of treatment (Couzos and Murray 2007).
Essential features of the PHC delivery
The key areas of the program include: “greater focus on prevention, health promotion and early intervention; life course approach to planning and service delivery, increased cultural security in service planning and delivery” (“Western Australian Aboriginal Primary Care Resource” 2007, p. 10). In many situations, opinions can be used to identify the problem more succinctly and determine remedial measures. The wellness model requires the special language of management and physician-patient interaction (Thiele 2009). Australian primary healthcare for baronial populations represents a unique field of an economy based on theoretical concepts and principles. It is considered that economics is a values-neutral science in which no judgment or value is placed on the theory or how the system works. Thus, the case of primary healthcare shows that this statement is not true as judgment is placed on theory and is dependent upon the nature of services provided to general public (Thiele 2009). The administrative problem of healthcare spending varies with the nature of the program. When the program is for public works which private contractors are to construct, the government must carefully draw up blueprints out of a wide variety of proposals and see that the private contractors carry them out. To be effective the government should maintain a shelf of public works which are planned for prompt execution, or months, if not a year, maybe spent in preparation of desirable plans. When the government itself is to construct the healthcare policies, the administrative problem before it is larger than in either of the previous instances. The purchase of materials and equipment, the determination of wage rates, and the active supervision of construction are now added to the government’s problem of preparing the blueprints. Nevertheless, the administrative difficulties of supervising the outlay are exactly the same as when the same purpose is carried out through spending (Williams and Torrens 2008). When the healthcare receipts are loaned and invested to expand private investment through the existing banking and financial channels, the problem of administration might be left entirely to the private companies in return for a fee or commission. In healthcare, the supervision of income created by means of taxation is likely to be more difficult than deficit spending. Healthcare is apt to regard any government construction as a threat to private enterprise because the government sphere of activity might be enlarged. In addition, there is a small group of businessmen who may find their costs higher than those of their competitors (Thiele 2009).
Consistency of the program with the principle of PHC
In primary healthcare, judgment and value are placed on the theory and determine the main priorities of primary healthcare development. The short-run problem of policy is concerned with smoothing the shorter cyclical fluctuations. In contrast, the long-run problem is to raise the level of income. The former considers the income level satisfactory but attempts to lessen the deviations, while the latter is not concerned with the fluctuations about a norm but does indicate how to raise the norm itself. The distinction may be made in other terms. If the policy authority is confronted with an underemployment equilibrium, it may define the situation as a temporary cyclical depression or as a secular break in the investment trend (Thiele 2009). Under the former diagnosis the correct policy is to alleviate the immediate condition. Under the latter diagnosis the policy must be to raise the level in income over time. “Evidence suggests that attention should be centered on three major elements of child development, namely physical health, cognitive development and socio-emotional behavior” (“Western Australian Aboriginal Primary Care Resource” 2007, p. 14). The main weakness is that primary healthcare programs in Australia are designed for the short-run problem. Open market operations, changes in rediscount rates, and alterations in reserve requirements, can be achieved quickly. Nevertheless, if the situation has been correctly diagnosed as cyclical and temporary, monetary policy vigorously carried out does influence the decisions of borrowers. A current policy can diminish borrowing in a boom, and an easy money policy does reduce interest rates and improve the liquidity of the member banks in depression, both of which encourage recovery.
Conclusion
In sum, the primary healthcare in Australia depends upon judgment and value which are placed on theory. The reverse policy, of prosecutions in prosperity arid relaxation in depression, would be little better; for the downswing in the absence of an antitrust policy creates its own rigidities and monopolistic restrictions. Hence such a policy must be carried on continually if it is to attempt to smooth the cycle. For the moment, no precise formula exists by which the allotment can be made and the process allows for reference to past referral patterns, mortality and morbidity statistics, and a good deal of hard bargaining. The lag of costs behind selling prices in the upswing and the downswing, and the rigid prices of many monopolistic producers, magnify the fluctuations. The removal of monopolistic price rigidity and bottlenecks, in general, is unquestionably a step in the right direction and would tend to smooth the cycle. There is likely to be political pressure to relax the policy in prosperity, whereas in depression popular resentment against the big business may initiate proceedings.
List of References
Comprehensive PHC Reform. 2009. NTER Review. Web.
Couzos, S., Murray, R. 2007. Aboriginal Primary Health Care An Evidence-based Approach. Third Edition.
Thiele, D. Closing the gap for urban the gap for urban Aboriginal peoples Aboriginal peoples. Sydney. 2009. Web.
Western Australian Aboriginal Primary Care Resource Kit. 2007. Web.
Williams, S., Torrens, R. R. (2008). Introduction To Health Services. Delmar Cengage Learning; 6 edition.