To the Author

Thank you for your timely and well thought through article.

I have done my utmost to write, implement, and evaluate primary health care principles and philosophies. I have taught nurses and medical practitioners and other health professionals for many years. Similarly, I have taught clients/patients.

Nurses and medical practitioners in the main are not interested in prevention and early intervention - well, at least from my experience.

On the other hand, clients/patients and their carers, and allied health professionals have mostly shown interest.

Interesting
Cheers
Kay
PS: Hi Shaun

There is an assumption in the broader community that if we throw enough money at any given problem it would go away. This is all well and good apart from the fact that those that espouse the 'money will solve it all' solution do not, themselves, step up to the plate and offer solutions that would obviate their own inclusion in the problem's solution.

I do not know of anybody, given the academic requirements, that would be refused entry to a learning institution in their endeavour to achieve what people on this forum want.

What then do we do? Lower the standards that we demand of system of medical treatment? We could achieve all the above desires if we imported thousands of doctors such as Queensland's experience with Patel. We could flood the corridors of even the most remote hospitals with health 'professionals' of suspect credentials.

Private rooms? My God, what level of sanctimonious expectation do we have when people advocate that private rooms for patients should be an expectation of health reform? 20 plus million private rooms available in case all the population became ill is a wonderful way of spending the medical dollar.

The most pressing problem in today's society, as I see it, is not the failure of a system but an unrealistic expectation of its abilities. The enormous costs of ever developing technologies come at the same enormous price tags. We demand acknowledgment and treatment of illnesses that compound daily yet we remain devoutly ignorant or what that cost is in real terms.

If the general public wants the biggest and best of health care, regardless of cost, then we should also be willing to increase taxes and subvert welfare to do it. A budget surplus is evanescent at best, the willingness of the population to perpetuate the funding of these services is what is important

It's good to see citizen engagement in health issues raised and let's hope we can have some more specific comments focused upon your article.

You put forward the 1999 Consensus Conference as "great example" of citizen engagement. Yet how is success evaluated? Whilst the dozen or so participants in the project may have gained a great deal and enjoyed the process what was the impact upon public policy? What did the process add to the development of gene technology policies and how consumers are today engaged in the science and technology? Such one off initiatives can be time and resource hungry and are unlikely to be repeated unless there is evidence to demonstrate their value.

Consumer participation in health planning and delivery seems woeful in many states. Although there are some high level strategies the reality seems to be that most politicians, policy makers and health planners do not percieve increased citizen engagement as the way forward.

Life expectancy is considered as measure for health for a country and compared between countries indicate which country is forward and backward in health care system.Is advancement of medical care only indicative for longer life expectancy?I want comment on this question.

DR PRABIR

I could not understand your first post, let alone your second. Sorry.

Cheers
Kay

Kalweb

Let me now enter to the question raised.We know USA is highly devloped in medical care system.But it is found that Spain and Singapore are ahead of life expectancy when compared with USA.Am I clear now?