Pharmacy Daily | Rural health needs political focus

STOP-GAP measures and small-scale funding initiatives are failing to address the critical issues facing Australia's rural health system, the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA) believes.

In the organisation's pre-Budget submission, NRHA CEO, Dr Gabrielle O'Kane, called on the Federal Government to deepen its policy focus on the area and implement a new National Rural Health Strategy, noting that there are not enough health services to support the seven million Australians living in regional, rural and remote locations.

The NRHA has called for wholesale changes to the funding structure for rural health with serious consideration to be given to block funding and the development of Rural Area Community Controlled Health Organisations.

"After years of well-intended, ad-hoc support, it is evident that a holistic and strategic approach is necessary to address the fundamental systemic issues of workforce shortages, lack of access to services and the affordability of rural health care," she said.

"With half the number of health providers per capita in rural Australia compared to major cities, rural people cannot access the health care they need, which contributes to them becoming ill, hospitalised and dying prematurely at a much greater rate."

O'Kane added that the lack of access to health services has meant that rural Australians use Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme at "a much lower rate" than patients from urban areas, which has resulted in a "spending shortfall of $4 billion in rural health annually".

"The way health services operate in the city doesn't translate to the country; it's just incompatible, which leaves rural areas missing out on that $4 billion in taxpayer health funding every year," she said.

"Our current fee-for-service Medicare rebate system rewards high volume patient throughput, which does not work for smaller rural GP practices.

"The situation is even worse for many private allied health services, as there are very few Medicare Benefits Schedule items that patients can claim, making those services unaffordable for many rural people."