Indigenous health funding must be better targeted
AMA Vice President, Professor Geoffrey Dobb, said today that more strategic use of Indigenous health funding could improve access to the most appropriate health services for Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders.
Commenting on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) report on Indigenous health expenditure, Prof Dobb said that it is not just a matter of more funding for Indigenous health, it is just as important to ensure that the funding is strategically targeted to ensure that Indigenous people get the right care in the right place at the right time.
Prof Dobb acknowledged that the Federal Government had increased funding for Indigenous health, and it is now up to all governments and health service providers, including NGOs, to work together to ensure Indigenous health funding delivers the maximum benefit.
“One of the best ways to reduce inequalities is to improve the access of Indigenous Australians to high quality primary health care,” Prof Dobb said.
“A big part of the solution is to give funding priority to Aboriginal community-controlled primary care services to allow them to maximise their high potential for best practice and quality care.
“Private general practices also need greater support to be able to provide specialised quality primary care that is more easily available to Indigenous people.
“The AIHW report shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are low users of private medical, pharmaceutical, dental and other health services.
“There should be greater collaboration and integration, where possible and appropriate, between private general practices and Aboriginal community-controlled services to enable the sharing of cultural advice and clinical expertise,” Prof Dobb said.
The AMA believes that better access to quality primary care for Indigenous people can be achieved by providing:
- support to routinely record Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status in patient records;
- incentives to minimise costs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients;
- support for the completion of cultural safety training;
- development of Registrar training in core competencies in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health; and
- incentives to train and employ Aboriginal Health Workers.
These issues are covered fully in the AMA Report Card, Best Practice in Primary Health Care for Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islanders, at http://ama.com.au/node/6667
24 June 2011
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