Catholic Health Australia is supporting the Australian Medical Association’s call for greater access to out-of-hospital care for patients, outlined in its position paper released yesterday.
“We have been calling for reform to out-of-hospital care for the past year and are pleased to see the sector unite around this issue,” said Catholic Health Australia chief executive Jason Kara.
“Treatments like chemotherapy, dialysis, wound care, palliative care and post-surgical rehab can be conducted safely at home with better outcomes – but millions of patients are missing out.
“We urgently need reforms that allow patients and their doctors to choose where they receive their care, rather than having that choice dictated by insurers.”
Polling commissioned by CHA earlier this year showed that 82 per cent of Australians would consider hospital-in-the-home care if it was delivered by a private hospital.
CHA is calling for default benefits – the minimum insurers must pay for a treatment – to apply to out-of-hospital care. Currently these benefits only apply to care in a private hospital setting, making the hospital-in-the-home model of care unviable.
“Care at home can lead to lower readmission rates, shorter stays and increased patient satisfaction, as well as reduce pressure on the straining hospital system – but private hospitals are often unable to provide this care due to restrictive funding agreements with private health insurers,” Mr Kara said.
“To stop Australia falling further behind international peers, and ensure patients receive the care they want, the Government must apply a default benefit to hospital-in-the-home care.”
FULL STORY
CHA backs AMA push for greater access to out-of-hospital care (CHA)
