Australian Health Review back issues from December 2004:
Effective discharge policy: are we getting there?
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract Purpose: To determine patients' knowledge before admission about how many days they were likely to be hospitalised and, after discharge, to determine patients' perceptions of their 'readiness' to leave hospital following carotid endarterectomy. Usefulness of discharge ...
Acute Transition Allliance: rehabilitation at the acute/aged care interface
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract The acute/aged care interface has presented many challenges to funders, providers and planners in the health and aged care sectors. Concerns have long been expressed in the aged care sector about the changing needs of clients admitted permanently into residential aged care from ...
After-hours general practice clinics are unlikely to reduce low acuity patient attendances to metropolitan Perth emergency departments
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract Objective: To model the effectiveness of after-hours general practice (GP) in reducing metropolitan Perth emergency departments' (ED) low acuity patient (LAP) attendances and costs. Methods: We estimated LAP attendances by comparison of the product of (A) the difference ...
The value of local area planning
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract The following case study describes the Barwon Primary Care Forum (BPCF) model for local area planning and the value this model has brought to the member agencies. The model was developed from a locally identified need for social planning which historically had resulted in ...
Setting priorities in the south west of Western Australia: where are we now?
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract Due to resource scarcity, health care decision makers must make choices about what services to fund. In exploring the potential for developing a formal approach to priority setting in the South West Area Health Service (SWAHS) in Western Australia, we carried out a qualitative ...
Impact on public hospitals if private health insurance rates in Victoria declined
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract The additional cost of treating acute care type Victorian private patients as public patients in Victorian public hospitals based on the current public sector payment model and rates was calculated, as was the loss of health fund income to public hospitals. If all private cases ...
Retention of nursing staff - a team-based approach
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract This case study discusses a team-based approach to the retention of nursing staff. In 2001, Mercy Hospital for Women (Mercy) was part of a benchmarking study to try to understand more about its nursing workforce. The results indicated that 40% of nursing staff were at risk of ...
Care coordination and health sector reform
Dec 13, 2004; ... THE PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION (Productivity Commission 2004) has nominated nationally coordinated health sector reform as one of two top priorities (along with natural resource management) for extending the industry reform agenda under the aegis of National Competition Policy. This is in ...
Correction
Dec 13, 2004; ... Re: "Patents, pills and politics: the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme", by Ken Harvey, (Aust Health Rev 2004, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 218-226). Under the heading "A brief history of patent law relevant to ...
Health system costs of falls of older adults in Western Australia
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract The aim of this study was to determine the health system costs associated with falls in older adults who had attended an emergency department (ED) in Western Australia. The data relating to the ED presentations and hospital admissions were obtained from population-based hospital ...
The shifting cost of care: early discharge for rehabilitation
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract This article tells the stories of two family carers, each of whom is caring for someone who has been discharged early from hospital to have their rehabilitation at home. These stories illustrate the personal impact of early discharge for rehabilitation. The article argues that ...
A transitional care service for elderly chronic disease patients at risk of readmission
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract Background: Multiple hospital admissions, especially those related to chronic disease, represent a particular challenge to the acute health care sector in Australia. Objective: To determine whether a nurse-led chronic disease management model of transitional care reduced ...
Consultation with non-English speaking communities: rapid bilingual appraisal
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract Government services, including health departments, are insisting that consumers or users of health services be consulted. Linguistic diversity in communities can pose challenges to planners and policymakers in this communication and consultation agenda. This article presents ...
Improving mental health services in a local area - an exploratory study
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract The change in the focus of care for people with mental illness from hospital to community has been far from uniformly successful for a variety of reasons. A review of the development of mental health services suggests that the views of doctors and the responses of administrative ...
The decision process of leaving nursing
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract This article reports the findings of a research study investigating the decision process of former division one nurses in deciding to leave the profession. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 29 participants. For many participants, leaving nursing was not an easy ...
Effects of increased private health insurance on hospital utilisation in Victoria
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract The proportion of Victorians and Australians generally with private health insurance (PHI) increased from 31% in 1998 to 45% in 2001. We analysed a dataset containing all hospital separations throughout Victoria to determine whether changes in the level of private health ...
An aggression policy that works
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract In 1999, a survey of the clinical staff in Royal Darwin Hospital showed that most instances of aggressive and abusive behaviour by patients or visitors occurring in the hospital went unreported because staff believed there would not be any follow-up investigation or action taken ...
Experience of a falls and injuries risk assessment clinic
Dec 13, 2004; ... Abstract Aim: To describe the first 2 years of operation of a specialist Falls Clinic providing assessment of falls risk and individual preventive interventions in a public hospital setting. Method: Drawing from the available falls prevention evidence, a multidisciplinary Falls ...
A model health system approach to gender-based violence
Dec 13, 2004; ... A model health system approach to gender-based violence VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: The Health sector Responds. Velzeboer M, Ellsberg M, Areas CC, Garcia-Moreno C Pan American Health Organization, Washington 2003. Occasional Publication No. 12. 131 pp. THIS EXCELLENT ...