In the build up to a Federal Election, it’s always a bit of a lottery whether your area of interest will be a key focus point for political parties and used to engineer influence and attention. On this occasion, while healthcare has featured prominently, there remains a gaping hole on the subject of the level of service rural Australia is receiving. We know that Australia can be a victim of its size and topography but the level of apathy that’s currently being shown towards this group of Australians is not acceptable. While I’m not naive enough to think that all these pre-election promises end up being actioned, it would be heartening to see this issue at least on the agenda.
Australians living in rural areas receiving a lower quality of care unfortunately won’t come as a shock to many of us, but given how long this sector of the population has been left in relative doldrums, the shock is that more hasn’t been done. It’s approximately 7 million Australians or 28% of the Australian population that live in rural or remote areas and the challenges this group face are vast and varied.
Data shows that rural people typically have higher rates of hospitalisations and injury but also have poorer access to, and use of, primary health care services, compared to those living in metro areas. On many occasions, if they had such access then illnesses could have been prevented or treated better and subsequently avoided the need for hospitalisation. The sad truth is that people in rural or remote areas often neglect their health issues, due to limited access to primary care, only resulting in exacerbating their condition.
There is, however, reason for optimism within this – the technology in existence and being developed is helping to bridge the gap between the quality of care received by city and rural residents. Telehealth is the big example, which is starting to have a positive impact, but for many communities it’s still in its infancy or not being given the opportunity to be implemented. There is also the administrative side that is essential to underpinning the healthcare system – things such as centralised patient management systems may sound insignificant but can have a considerable positive effect on the care of both patients and healthcare workers.
The industry is currently facing a number of issues with staff shortages and strikes – despite reports, it’s not financially-motivated, it’s based on working conditions, caused for the most part by unnecessary time pressures put on healthcare workers not being equipped with the right systems. It’s a simple equation, the more time they are having to collate patient information, the less time they are able to spend on actual patient care – not an outcome anybody should be comfortable with. Digital patient records are so important in modern healthcare and ensure a continuity of care in regional communities.
The issue needs to be addressed from two aspects, the healthcare sector needs to strengthen its digital solutions to better support rural communities and the government needs to implement a dedicated national rural health strategy. Within the industry, there’s currently a reluctance to embrace digital transformation, instead continuing with legacy systems that are impacting equitable healthcare in rural Australia. The technology exists, it’s the attitude and openness to change that needs addressing, which can require education. As for the government, it’s clear that there needs to be a dedicated strategy, with a clear roadmap and sufficient funding to enable technology to be implemented and embraced for healthcare in rural Australia to be elevated. Along with an historic reluctance to change, it’s often financial reasons as to why healthcare institutions resist digital transformation.
The tyranny of distance is an inescapable aspect of Australia but it’s clear that more needs to be done to bridge the gap between rural and metro healthcare. Embracing technology really is the only way that this is going to happen – government, technology solutions providers and healthcare institutions need to work together to make strides and ensure rural and remote Australians are not forgotten and left behind.
Elaria Paul is the Product Portfolio Manager at MasterCare, providing community health software for end-to-end client management and data reporting.
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