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economic crisis
The following articles have the tag economic crisis
Recession busting
With the economic downturn and pressure from patients to bulk bill, working more efficiently has never been so important. Pamela Wilson and Amanda Sheppeard kick off our ongoing coverage. THE mantra ‘people still get sick’ is often used by doctors and financial commentators to explain their theory that healthcare is a recession-proof industry. While it’s true that doctors are guaranteed an income from patients no matter what the global financial situation, the reality is that tough economic times can still impact heavily on doctors’ personal and professional finances. For example, many doctors might ...
Dire public health forecast for global crisis
THE public health impact of the economic crisis could be significant, according to European researchers who estimate rates of suicide, violence and alcohol abuse could rise. The researchers assessed unemployment rates, government health and welfare spending and mortality data in 26 European countries between 1970 and 2007. They estimated that for every 1% increase in unemployment in developed countries there was a 0.79% increase in suicide among people younger than 65 years. A sharp rise in the number of jobless (more than 3% in a year) had a much greater effect on suicide, and had led ...
Practice staff the key to profit making
ALTRUISTIC GPs have been advised to work smarter and leverage off practice staff if they plan to bulk-bill cash-strapped patients during the global financial crisis. The advice from medical practice accounting expert Jarrod Bramble follows a recent national poll commissioned by Medical Observer , which found 61% of GPs felt compelled to bulk-bill more patients in response to the crisis. The survey prompted professional bodies to predict that GPs might put compassion ahead of their own bottom line ( MO , 8 May ). Speaking after a recent seminar for doctors in Sydney, Mr ...
Charities’ cruel shortfall
Donations to aid agencies are drying up in the wake of the global economic crisis. The impact could devastate developing countries. Kate Woods reports. DR JULIA Newton-Howes has seen a lot of people lose their jobs. While it’s not an uncommon observation to make in today’s economic climate, it is particularly concerning because Dr Newton-Howes is chief executive of CARE Australia, the international humanitarian aid organisation with a brief to fight global poverty. She is referring to people living in developing countries. “If you own a house in Australia and you are forced ...
The aftershocks of unemployment
With the recession yet to peak, Kathryn Eccles looks at the health consequences for patients dealing with unemployment or high debt. WHILE many people are relishing the Rudd Government’s stimulus cash bonus being deposited in their accounts, many others are facing the cold hard reality of the downturn. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures for April show that around 35,300 Australian workers lost their jobs last month, a direct result of the global financial crisis. These new victims of the downturn join 614,600 before them sharing the label ‘unemployed’ and together they make up ...
The global financial crisis: Are you insulated?
From rising pressure to bulk-bill to diminishing revenues, the economic crisis will impact GPs. But how recession-proof is the profession? Elizabeth McIntosh reports. IT COULD be seen as the one silver lining to the health workforce cloud. In this current environment, with unemployment rising and economies diving worldwide, overworked GPs can at least take some satisfaction from their job security. The economic crisis will affect how patients present to GPs, and in what numbers. But considering its historical resilience, and the current undersupply of doctors, experts see general practice as a recession-proof profession. That’s ...
Doctors at the front line of tough times
WE all know that times are tough. The biggest impact of all is the rising unemployment rate. This is the most human face of a recession. Unemployment affects the individual in that it causes anxiety, stress, low self-esteem and depression. It affects the families and marital relationships and children. It affects communities and society with increasing crime rates, drug and alcohol dependencies, increased displacement and homelessness. Brendan Nelson has likened unemployment to a disease. It causes sickness and propagates itself across generations. Those who are unemployed cannot afford private health insurance and will fall to ...
Economic crisis could water down forecasted GP retirement numbers
FINDINGS from a recent study, which reveal nearly 12% of the GP workforce is expected to retire within five years, are being downplayed by observers who argue the current economic crisis may force many to revise their plans. The Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) longitudinal study predicted that nearly 2500 GPs would exit the profession, however, these findings were based on a survey conducted in May 2008. Principal investigator Professor Tony Scott, head of the Melbourne Institute’s health economics research program, said the next survey – due to take place in June – was ...
Recession threatens health reform
THE Rudd Government’s health reform agenda is in danger of stalling, experts warn, as the economic crisis deepens and the Australian economy slides into recession. As a result of the crisis, doctors are being urged to stay alert to the flow-on effects of the deteriorating economic climate, with predictions that patients will cut back on medications and avoid GP visits to make ends meet. Just two weeks ahead of the federal Budget, Robert Wells, director of the Menzies Centre for Health Policy and the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute, said primary health care reform was likely ...
Spending down on pharma events
A $2.6 million drop in pharmaceutical company spending on educational events could be linked to a growing reluctance among doctors to attend lavish industry events, according to a leading academic. Director of the Monash Centre for Ethics in Medicine and Society Professor Paul Komesaroff said wider community scrutiny of the links between doctors and pharmaceutical companies had resulted in “less enthusiasm for educational events” among doctors. Professor Komesaroff suggested the global financial crisis might also have contributed to the drop in pharmaceutical company spending, but Medicines Australia chief executive Ian Chalmers said this was impossible to determine. ...
Public health opportunity
PUBLIC health is one area which could benefit from the current economic crisis if government spending is channelled into health-related infrastructure, experts say. They argue that economic stimulus funds should be diverted to projects with health benefits, such as footpaths, bicycle paths, parks and sporting facilities. This would also offset an expected decline in nutrition and increase in obesity. Professor Ian Caterson, director of the Sydney-based Institute of Obesity, Nutrition and Exercise, said such projects were happening piecemeal in Australia. He said policies were needed to ensure healthier foods were cheaper, such as a diesel allowance ...