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Broadening your health cover
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In case you have been living on Mars and missed the Government's TV ads (with the umbrellas), there have been some changes to Australia's health system.
It used to be that you had to be admitted to hospital to have your medical treatments covered by your private hospital cover. But now, new government reforms mean that you can be covered for some treatments administered outside of hospital.
The reforms – called broader health cover – are a big win for health insurers and patients.
"These changes mean we can now pay benefits on a broader range of health services," says Amanda Hagan, Australian Unity's Group Executive – Healthcare.
"Once upon a time, if one of our members required chemotherapy or wound management, they had to go to hospital. Now, if your doctor believes it would be beneficial and medically appropriate – these same treatments can take place in your home.
"Of course these specific options are still a while away but for many people, the option to stay out of hospital for certain treatments will be a great convenience and may make their recovery easier."
But that's not all. The new reforms also allow health funds to offer programs designed to help people deal with chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and arthritic conditions.
And helping members improve their health is likely to lead to fewer claims. So the end result is a more efficient system that aims to keep the cost of premiums contained.
Australian Unity has a strong commitment to broader health cover and recently introduced a new member benefit under the legislation – the coronary artery disease program, which helps members who have been hospitalised with heart problems.
The Australian Unity member support program is another broader health cover initiative. The program is designed to help your recovery by helping you to go home sooner. We do this by providing access to a range of services in the comfort of your own home.
For more information about Australian Unity's broader health cover programs, call 13 29 39.
Cutting the cost of chronic disease
Allowing doctors to electronically share patient information could cut the costs of chronic disease ?by up to $7 billion, says a recent report from the Australian Centre for Health Research.
According to Professor Michael Georgeff, author of the report and Director of ehealth at Monash University, more than one-quarter of Australians are chronically ill and require close monitoring and often-intense management by a team of health professionals.
He believes better disease management, including better knowledge sharing, care coordination and remote monitoring of patients would significantly improve health outcomes and help reduce the cost burden on the health system.
"Thirty to fifty percent of chronically ill patients are needlessly hospitalised because of inadequate care management," says Michael.
He also believes another significant problem lies with the way our health system is run. At present, if you're sick, one of your doctors may not know what tests or medication have been prescribed by another doctor – even if they are members of the same care team.
"This is not good for the patient or our hospital system.
"The solution is to get healthcare teams and patients electronically connected to one another, providing health professionals with all of the information they need, when they need it."
Michael believes that for this major transformation to occur, two major planks need to be put in place – internet technologies for sharing information and services, and Government policies that provide incentives to industry stakeholders to use evidence-based health practices.
"If we can electronically collect, share and use patient information, the potential benefits are great. We could expect to see savings of up to $1.5 billion per annum in direct health care costs, a further $1.5 billion in savings to patients and their carers, and up to $4 billion gain in productivity if workers were to take fewer sick days because of chronic disease."
Poor lifestyle choices rob Australians of healthy years
We've all got a vice that we're not proud of – whether it's indulging in one too many glasses of wine or snacking on chocolate instead of fruit. This may be fine in moderation, but you can expose yourself to some dangerous risks if these vices move from the occasional to the everyday.
A new report, The burden of disease and injury in Australia 2003, from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has found that preventable risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, poor diets and lack of exercise are responsible for almost a third of Australia's total health burden and are the leading cause of preventable deaths.
When measuring the burden of disease, the report goes beyond mortality to include the social and economic impact of illness and disease as well.
For the first time, cancer knocked off cardiovascular disease to win the dubious honor of being the leading burden on the population. This shift can be attributed to the many improvements in the treatment of heart disease in Australia. These include programs designed to reduce smoking, and therapies that aim to lower cholesterol and high blood pressure.
The AIHW also believe these heart disease improvements are the main reason that Australia now has the third highest life expectancy of OECD countries.
| Life Expectancy in Australia |
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Males |
Females |
1996 |
75.6 |
81.3 |
2003 |
78.3 |
83.2 |
| *Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,
The burden of disease and injury in Australia 2003. |
| Life Expectancy in Australia by state |
| Life Expectancy at birth |
New South Wales |
80.6 |
Victoria |
80.9 |
Queensland |
80.8 |
Western Australia |
81.3 |
South Australia |
80.3 |
Tasmania |
79.2 |
ACT |
82.3 |
Northern Territory |
75.5 |
*Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,
The burden of disease and injury in Australia 2003.
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8 steps to good health
Want to improve your health but don't know where to start? Well here are eight simple steps to help reduce your health risks and be the healthiest you can be.
- Measure your waist
The simplest scientifically effective way to monitor you weight is to measure your waist (in line with your navel). The Heart Foundation together with the Cardiac Society of Australia recommend that waist measurement be less than 80cm for women and less than 94cm for men.
- Have your blood pressure measured
Highblood pressure can lead to heart attack, heart failure, stroke or kidney disease. While there is no 'ideal' blood pressure reading, the Heart Foundation recommends adults under 65 have blood pressure under 130/85 and those aged over 65, under 140/90.
- Take a blood glucose test
Diabetes Australia says normal blood glucose levels should be 6mmol/L or lower. Fasting blood glucose levels of 7 or higher can indicate diabetes.
- Monitor your cholesterol
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, high blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. Total blood cholesterol levels above 5.5 mmol/L indicate a greatly increased risk of developing heart disease.
- Give up smoking
Smoking is a major cause of heart disease, stroke, several different forms of cancer, and a wide variety of other health problems. Giving up smoking has major and immediate health benefits for men and women of all ages.
- Eat a healthy diet
Most Australians eat only half the amount of fruit and vegetables recommended for good health. The Australian Department of Health and Ageing recommends that adults need to eat at least two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables each day.
- Exercise for 30 minutes – Five or more days per week
The National Physical Activity Guidelines for Australians recommends all adults participate in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity most days of the week. This can help improve health indicators such as blood pressure, blood cholesterol and body weight.
- Drink alcohol in moderation
Australian Alcohol Guidelines recommend:
For men: no more than 4 standard drinks a day on average and no more than 6 standard drinks on any one day.
For women: no more than 2 standard drinks a day on average and no more than 4 standard drinks on any one day.
Everyone should have one or two alcohol free days per week and know the 'standard' drink size – an average restaurant sized glass of wine can be 1.8 standard drinks.
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