AHHA Submission to the Working Better for Medicare Review Submission

This submission builds on consultation undertaken with health system leaders in developing a blueprint for health reform towards outcomes-focused, value-based health care, and AHHA’s operating model of continuously listening to and engaging with the experiences and evidence from our members and stakeholders, as we contribute to the evolution of our health system. [...] The complex nature of the system, including the various funding mechanisms and scope of practice restrictions, create issues for the workforce in terms of: • Understanding and navigating the system. [...] This is collectively to the detriment of the communities served by the workforce distribution levers, compromising the continuity and quality of care, and impeding overall accessibility to healthcare services. [...] The Mid Term Review of the National Health Reform Agreement17 proposes that measures of primary care access should be collected, reported and evaluated, to inform distribution of the right workforce, in the right place, at the right time. [...] It pieces together the state of the workforce from the fragmented data available and feedback from professional bodies.’ (page 4) To start addressing the fragmented data and information gaps, as well as other issues identifies in this submission, a national health workforce strategy is needed that goes beyond the adequacy, quality and distribution of the workforce as it currently exists.