Australian Health Review

AbstractAccess to care for patients remains a concern for all parties in the provision of hospital services. It is the subject of patient complaints, large investments of funds and vigorous debate in the community, hospitals and the political arena....

AbstractObjective: To describe the epidemiological and other characteristics of emergency department (ED) presentations diagnosed with acute upper respiratory infection (URI).Design and setting: A retrospective study of patients given an ED diagnosis...

AbstractHealth service delivery model reforms are currently underway in Cape York in an effort to improve health outcomes for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These reforms include the transition of the Apunipima Cape York Health...

TWO ARTICLES ARE FEATURED in this AHR issue's Models of Care section. The first article by May and colleagues entitled "Integrated models or mayhem? Lessons learnt from three integrated primary health care entities in regional New South Wales" reviews...

AbstractA review of projection methodologies used to project sub-acute inpatient activity in various international health care jurisdictions was undertaken as part of a project to develop subacute inpatient activity projections for the state with the...

AbstractTo examine perceived adequacy of access to information and services, and perceived quality of health and community services, among older female carers across rural and urban areas primary data were collected as part of the ongoing Australian...

AbstractAustralian-trained doctors are often reluctant to work in rural and remote areas and overseas-trained doctors (OTDs) are recruited to practise in many rural Aboriginal medical services. This paper focuses on recent research carried out in Australia...

AbstractWhile "integration" may be a policy imperative at present, the reality of integrating services whilst managing the business of service delivery and best patient outcomes is both challenging and unfamiliar territory for most general practitioners....

AbstractObjective: We sought to examine potential predictors of readmission after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.Design/setting: We analysed routinely collected data of CABG patients who have used the public hospital system of Victoria,...

AbstractPublic health infrastructure provides the building blocks required for the system to achieve public health goals. A systems approach to public health has been suggested as a means to tackle persistent and emerging problems. Systems and infrastructure...

AbstractThis study aimed to understand the problems within the Indigenous health policy process in Australia and how weaknesses in the process impact on policy implementation. Using semi-structured questions, 23 key stakeholders in the policy-making...

AbstractThis article reviews the development of the national Indigenous performance measurement system over the last decade. Data were collected from the published and unpublished literature and review of government websites, facilitated by key informant...

AbstractOn 26 February 2008, Victorian State Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu described as a "blow out" the increase in average elective surgery waiting times from 202 days in September 2007 to 235 days in February 2008. Likewise, the Australian Medical...