FH3008 : Influence of Governance Clinical Practice : Health Economics

Part 1

Introduction:

The Australian Council of healthcare standards has defined the clinical governance as a system of in which the management, clinicians, nurses and the entire health care professionals share the responsibility and they are accountable for providing high-quality services to patients. This services including proving adequate care to the patient and providing a safe environment for continuous assessment and management of the patient's health condition (Zingg et al., 2015). Clinical government framework requires that all the role-players and stakeholders which are involved in taking care of patients share activities with the aim of enhancing quality services and safeguarding the standards of care. Governance structures are responsible for continuous improvement of the quality of clinical practices which are carried out by clinicians to ensure that they safeguard high standards of care and create an environment in which clinical practices will flourish. According to O’Neil et al. (2015), governance structure challenges the way clinicians work by encouraging them to adapt teamwork and communication among themselves which are very essential in providing high-quality clinical services, risk management, and quality healthcare. Clinical governance is made up of very many components which include education, risk management and research and development as well as openness. These components are made effective by communication, teamwork, and leadership. For the success of every organization high skilled, expertise and competence leaders are required which will guide the other staff on what to do to enhance production of high products and provide high-quality services to its clients (McInnes, Peters, Bonney & Halcomb, 2015). Therefore, the Australian healthcare institution requires good leaders in order to improve the clinical services offered by its hospitals.

Key governance structure that influence the clinical practices in Australia

Clinical audit which is a key governance structure has been formed by the Australian healthcare sector to ensure that its healthcare institution offer high-quality clinical practices and improve the quality of healthcare. Clinical auditing is a progressive exercise which is aimed at reviewing clinical standards against an agreed set of standards (Twigg & McCullough, 2014). Auditing is part of clinical practices which has been formed over generation in the Australian healthcare institutions. Auditing reflects the current clinical exercises which are carried out in hospitals and healthcare institutions and compares them with what was practiced in the past. Clinical auditing monitors the activities of healthcare and implements changes if necessary. Clinical effectiveness is another governance structure which questions how effective clinical interventions are by measuring how it works and the cost incurred (Currie, Mateer, Weston, Anderson & Harding, 2017). Clinical risk management is a governance which ensures that clinical services are excellent and provide effective and are focused on the patient's safety. The cultural practices have influenced the clinical services. However, the Australian government has implemented some risk management policies which ensures that clinicians have no room or mistakes in course of their work. This will reduce patient's vulnerabilities to risk which in return will improve the quality of podiatry treatment (Sawyer, Ambresin, Bennett, & Patton, 2014). A clinical accident is an unexpected incident which can cause harm to the patients or the clinician attended patient.  Clinical accidents can worsen the health condition of patients making them both physically and emotionally stressed. With the use of clinical risk management governance structures this incidents are minimized.

Australian government has also implemented disciplinary action in the health sector which can be taken against any misbehaving health care professional or even patients. This is because patients can be arrogant and rude towards the health professional making them not been able to deliver quality clinical services to them which may affect their health. The disciplinary action ensure that some measures are taken against this kind of patients to behave appropriately. The clinician may also misbehave, disciplinary action makes sure that no mistake occurs (Pulvirenti, McMillan & Lawn, 2014). There is a supportive system in which both patients and clinicians can place their complaints and staff monitors these complaints and address them appropriately. An open honest environment is required in which claims are , and they are not taken personally without having negative impacts on clinical practices leading to improved health care practices and enhancing the quality of services rendered to patients. Absence supportive complaints system may lead to clinicians changing practices which may have negative impacts and leave the patients unsatisfied. Therefore, clinicians and healthcare professionals should use their skills and expertise regardless of the patient's complaints against them (Runciman, Merry & Walton, 2017). This governance structures have a lot of impacts to both international, national and local policies. Australia by implanting these governance structure it has ensured improvement of clinical practices in the health sectors which has led to satisfactory of patients and therefore, Australians no longer have to travel to other countries and continents in search for healthcare support which has improved the economic status of the nation as they don't have to pay taxes for patients going out of the country.

The Australian safety and quality framework for health clinical frameworks

The Australian safety and quality framework for healthcare describes the aim of ensuring that each Australian is receiving high-quality health care services and medications which they require to improve their health condition. It also describes some actions and rules which have to be followed to achieve this objective (Brownson, Baker, Deshpande, & Gillespie, 2017). The Australian quality framework is made up of three core principles which ensures that patients are getting high-quality services. The first core principle is that the care should be consumer-centered meaning that they should provide satisfactory services to the patients and that the patients are happy about the treatment they receive from the healthcare institutions of Australia. The second one is that the care should be driven by information. This means that the medication and health care services which are given to clients which have some descriptions and information which can guide the patients in what they should and not do with their health condition. The information is always useful as it can help even other healthcare professionals be in position to know what has already been done to the patients and then proceed from there (O’Meara, 2015). The last principle is that the care should be organized for safety by ensuring that patients are not exposed to accidents as they receive their treatment and other healthcare services and also providing that healthcare professionals are working in conducive environments in which they are less exposed to risks and accidents which can make them deliver poor services to patients. The Australian safety and quality framework for healthcare practices perform various number of roles which include making decisions for strategic and operational safety measures (Mitchell & Beales, 2015). The structure also ensures that there is improvement in the current safety techniques by implementing new goals and activities in the safety sector.

Healthcare organization are been able to use the safety and quality framework on reviewing investments as they can predict risks and uncertainties which they might experience in term of their operation. Therefore, most health care institutions and hospitals in Australia can implement risk mitigation plans with the use of safety and quality framework. It also promotes meaningful conversations and agreement with both patients, society, health care professionals and the government on ways in which they can improve in the health sector (Brownson et al., 2017). Safety and quality framework has been used in all healthcare sectors of Australia for primary care in which the patients can control and manage his/her health condition, community and Australian government at large by regulating rules on how to apply the framework. Safety and quality framework were made in Australia to provide direct services to the clients, consumers and patients. It encourages health care professionals in the hospitals and other healthcare sectors to improve their communication and teamwork so that they can work together towards the achievement of safety and quality services to the patients (Green & Thorogood, 2018). The framework encourage healthcare professionals to follow the rules and protocols of the institution which they are working for, and in case of any complaints, they should not hesitate to forward them to the top management so that appropriate action can be taken early in adverse. Australian government urge that the society should be taught on how to ensure safety at their workplaces and home to avoid accident which may be harmful.

Part 2

Causes and effects of health economics on influencing health policy and national health priorities for healthcare provision in Australia

Health economics knowledge is an essential tool which can be applied in making health decision by both clinicians and the governing bodies. As the expense and cost of healthcare gets high, it is necessary to ensure that the kind of treatment and services they receive are of high quality which can treat and prevent infections (Jamison et la., 2017). Measurable equipment like QALYs are used to measure the cost and analyze the cost of health care and the outcomes of the services they offer to patients. QALY calculate the condition of each disease which include the impacts of the infection to the society. The equipment does this by comparing one infection with another and the kind of treatment each treatment requires. Advantages of a therapy are measured based on its impact on the human health whether it cures the infection entirely or it keeps on recurring to the patient. Health economics analyses and evaluates health outcome data which has been collected from various sources (DiClemente, Salazar & Crosby, 2018). With use different calculations the data is made useful and they can be applied in economic paradigms. The Australian government is charged with the role of balancing access of new drugs from other countries against the cost of pharmaceutical benefit scheme. The Australian government has also used economic evaluation scheme to ensure that there is efficient supply of healthcare resources in all health sector in the country to ensure that patients receives the best medication and treatment they deserve. Healthcare economic makes decision for all levels of health care in Australia.

Difficult choices that need to be made in healthcare

Making and developing healthcare choices is very difficult and complicated as the subjects always have topics which are not used in our day to day live thinking. However, healthcare professionals are forced to make them in cases where they encounter life-threatening issues like a case where a patient needs emergency operation (Dukhanin et al., 2018). The stake feel high for the choice that arises. Nurses, clinicians and entire healthcare professionals have to go through some choices and decisions when they encounter life-threatening illness about the kind of tests and treatments which they have to offer to the patient. A patients also have to make some choices about their health condition. They have to decide on whether to move to a hospital or merely get medication from pharmacist. However, when the health condition worsens they are left with no choice but go to hospital to seek for medical attention. Individuals also have to decide on the kind of diets to take to avoid infection. To come up with some appropriate decisions by both patients and healthcare professionals there are some framework which they need to follow (Goetzel et al., 2018). The first one is been informed. Information and communication is the foundation on which healthcare decision are made. Healthcare professionals have to communicate about a satisfied critical healthcare condition among themselves decide on what treatment and test they need to perform and the patients should be informed about their final decision. The second framework is the determining the goal. After coming up a choice, the healthcare professional has to learn how useful it will be to the health condition of the patients. The last framework is avoiding assumptions. Nurses and healthcare staff have to be sure that the decision and choice they agree on is capable of managing a specific health condition instead of assuming.

Principles of health economics in Australia

Health economics is a discipline which used in health sector to analyze the healthcare services which are offered to patients in Australia. From economic point of view, health economics is just among many topics in which principles of economics and processes can be applied (Sallis, Owen & Fisher, 2015). Health economics is made up of several law in which various types of activities are carried out in to ensure that the supply of healthcare products and services to patients in the community is efficient and that every citizen receives medical attention when sick. They include notation of scarcity in which the Australian government has to investigate the areas in which its citizen do not have quick access to health care services and come up with some ways in which to make healthcare services available to all citizens by distributing them all over the country (Northwood, Ploeg,  Markle?Reid & Sherifali, 2018). Supply and demand is also another health economic principle which the government has to evaluate to know places in the country in which health care services are more needed due to disease epidemics, like the outbreak of cholera in a particular region and ensure that they supply them with enough healthcare professionals and healthcare services which can control, manage and treat the disease. In remote areas healthcare professionals are charged with the role of educating the society on how to protect themselves from infections like STIs by using preventive measure like condoms and been faithful for couples, youths are also advised to abstain to stop the spread of the diseases. This services needs some capital.

 It is the role of the Australian government healthcare economic sector to distinguish between a need and a demand. A need in the healthcare point of view is an essential which a patients needs as treatment to their deteriorating health condition. According to Sloan & Hsieh (2017), demand on the other end are services which are offered to people and patients, but they are not very much essential as most of the time are performed at the patient's interest. They include activities like going to hospitals for check-ups, counseling and educating the society on how to improve their hygiene to avoid been infected. Efficiency is another critical healthcare economic principle in which the Australian government has to ensure that healthcare professionals are issued with the necessary equipment and drugs which they need to perform their role to ensure that the services they offer to the patients are of high quality and very useful (Mahli et al., 2015). Equity is also another healthcare economics principle which provides that all citizens receives equal health care services regardless of their social class. The government ensures that even the less fortunate in the society can receive medical attention without any discriminations.

Conclusion:

Health economic downturn has very many impacts on the health sector of Australia directly or indirectly. These effect affect each citizen in the country. Despite the act that the country goes through some strict healthcare economic condition it has to make sure that all its citizen receives equal health care services without discriminating any community. The less fortunate in the society should be shown care, and the government should ensures that they can access healthcare centers in case they are sick. The healthcare professional team should make appropriate decision regarding the patient health status and inform the patients or his/her family before proceeding with the test and treatment. This team should also help Australian citizen in making appropriate decisions regarding their health. Healthcare safety and quality framework should be imposed in even healthcare institutions to make sure that patients and healthcare will not be exposed to risks and accidents.

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