An expansion of hospital-in the-home care would ease pressure on hospitals and bring Australian into line with other western countries.
Catholic Health Australia Director of Public Health Alex Lynch said the Federal Government needed to introduce minimum health insurance payments, in relation to home care, as Australia was falling behind comparable nations.
Mr Lynch said five percent of Australian patients were treated at home, compared to 20 percent in the United Kingdom and 10 percent in Canada.
“Hospital-in-the-home care allows patients to stay in the comfort of their own homes for a range of treatments such as dialysis, chemotherapy and palliative care,” he said.
“For a range of treatments, hospital-in-the-home delivers high quality outcomes and is preferred by patients.”
Mt Lynch said expanding hospital-in-the-home care would improve outcomes for patients while taking pressure off the health system as the population aged.
“We should have more care offered in the home in Australia, but unfortunately we are being held back by inconsistent funding arrangements by health insurers which limits access.”
He said the Federal Government needed to extend default benefits, the minimum insurers must pay for a treatment, to hospital-in-the-home care.
“Catholic providers believe that patients and their doctors should make decisions about their care, not their insurer.
“The future of health care in this country must be centred on patient choice, quality, and compassion.”
