Similarities Between French Health And Australian Healthcare System

The health care system varies from country to country although a factor they all have in common is that great measures of research are taken in order to find results and achieve a good health care system for the economy. Between Australia and japan, there are great initiatives taken to help in association to this, including economic, social and political circumstances, all influencing the way in which the countries health care system is shaped and run.

Many would agree that a worthy, controlled health system, above all, should essentially contribute to good health. The responsibility of a health care system is that the organization of people, institutions, and resources deliver the health care services required and meet the health needs of focus populations. Another duty that the health care systems stimulate is the reduction of inequality to race, gender, social status and religion. Each health care system is different when looking at specific countries across the world, however some countries are more similar than others, such as France and Canada’s health care system. These two countries have numerous similarities when examining their health care systems, conversely that does not denote that both France and Canada are just as equivalent as the other. When observing countless aspects, such as longevity and infant mortality, as well as a lot of the inputs such as doctors or beds per capita, and of course the total expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP over the year, it is seen that France has a better and more enhanced health care system than Canada.

The Australian healthcare system has been evolving since the beginning of the colonisation of Australia. Today, Australia has an extremely efficient healthcare system although it still has several issues. The influencing factors, structure, and current issues of the Australian healthcare system will be throughly discussed and explained in this essay.

Naidoo and Wills(2001, p.47) “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’ - WHO (1946).” This definition falls into a holistic way of defining health, which believes that there are more areas to look at when thinking of health than just simply the absence of a disease. It considers the cause of why someone is ill and not just simply about ’fixing it’.

But over the past few decades, the definititon and concept of health has evolved to encompass more elements than just the physical well-being of a person. This is partly attributed to various researches and studies that have taken place around the world in the last 60 years. Already in 1948, the World Health Organization declared that health is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not

The following paper is based on the differences between two healthcare systems in two different countries, these systems are the Australian healthcare system which is Medicare, and England’s National health system which is known as the NHS.

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” (World Health Organisation, 2011)

The Australian health care system is a highly functioning and accessible system based on universal principles of access and equity. In this essay I will discuss the historical evolution and current structure of our health system, identifying current health service models of delivery and look at its strengths, weaknesses, policies and health priorities currently in Australia. I will discuss the roles of government and non-government health services in service provision and funding sources of Australian health. We will get a better insight of the role of standards for residential aged care and look into a broad range of professions that consumers may engage with in health service delivery, their roles and functions of each profession.

The definition of health is fluid, ever changing and carries different meanings across individuals, societies and cultures. Although it is difficult

“Don’t treat the disease, treat the patient” [9]. The concept of health has seemed to become complex in definition over the centuries as science improves. “Health is a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.”-World Health Definition of Health (1948) [9]

My paper is comparing the healthcare system in France to the healthcare system we have in the United States. We need to look at France’s healthcare and other countries with universal healthcare and ask ourselves “Is it sustainable?” Is it feasible?” “Will it provide for those who don’t have insurance and help those that do?” The results show universal healthcare is usable, but there have to be guidelines, who it covers, what it covers, and what improvements need to be made to make it work. When other countries have been using universal healthcare for 60 + years, it shows there is hope for it in this country too. Healthcare is a growing problem, but it might become more of one if taxes are raised to cover the cost. France’s NHS

Health care systems are organizations that are formed to meet the overall health needs of the population. Health care is regarded as one of the leading cause in promoting not only physical and mental health but the well-being of the population. Legislation is implemented requiring government to offer services to all members of its society. The role of health services and the organizations that provide aid is to focus on the health of an individual and to uphold their human rights. According to WHO (2013), a “well-functioning health care system requires a robust financing mechanism, a well-trained and adequately-paid workforce, reliable information on which to base decisions and policies, and well maintained facilities and logistics to deliver quality medicines and technologies (World Health Organization; 2013).

The World Health Organisation defined health: “State of complete physical and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity” (WHO, 1946 p.100). Many factors influence health such as family traits, behaviours, access to quality healthcare and environment (quality of air, bad/good water and housing conditions) (WHO, 1946). The holistic view of health combines the mind (mental), body (physical), emotional and spiritual elements to a person (Ewes & Simnett, 2003).

Health is a complex concept, and global health adds to this complexity. When I think of health as a concept, I view it as being absent of disease. This understanding is a very biomedical approach to health and is a very narrow viewpoint of health. According to the World Health Organization (1948), health is defined as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (a cited by Jacobsen p. 2). This definition does give a better understanding of what health is from a broader perspective. At the University of Victoria’s Global Health class, I have become to understand better the WHO’s definition and that it is linked to the social determinants of health. In this paper, I will reflect and analyze the learning that occurred for myself while taking the Global Health class, and how this knowledge has helped my nursing practice evolve at the local and international level.

Naidoo & Wills (2000) defined health in two main ways: the positive approach, where health is viewed as a capacity or an asset, and the negative approach, which emphasises the absence of illness, diseases or disorders. “Health” as defined by the World