Currently, one of the major concerns in the international health sector is the shortage of healthcare providers. As a strategy geared towards cubing the same, nations that are already developed have adopted their regulations, policies, and legislation that not only satisfy their need but contribute to the global shortage of workforce (AIHW 2017). On top of that, any attempts that such countries might make to have the migration of healthcare workers managed would only lead to the underlining of difficulties of trying to create a balance between the maintenance of worker’s rights and their will to choose where to work against the provision of medical services; all with regards to the ever-increasing global population (AIHW 2017).
The objectives of this activity are:
Emphasizing a lot more on Australia and India, this project activity will illustrate perfectly well, the current global healthcare professionals’ shortage with regards to medical service provider migration. One of the only ways of curbing such an issue (as discussed earlier on} is to harmonize laws of health to ensure that there is an equitable healthcare distribution and delivery. However, it is the duty of individual countries to take their part in the harmonization of the laws and regulations that would lead to global equity of health provider distribution.
The research activity will also debate on the social and ethical impacts of medical practitioner’s shortage globally and then examine the way in which Australia responds to the crisis. Via discussions of the societal and ethical impacts of Australia’s health policies, the activity will determine the negative outcomes of medical migration. In the discussion, it is argued out that, as much as the health regulations and policies of Australia are supposed to be responsive with regards to the shortage of healthcare workforce, such policies should never be responsible for the impacts of migration.
At the time of drafting this report, Australia faces an acute shortage of healthcare workforce. There are many reasons resulting to the same. One of them is the reduced number of medical students that are trained in the country. The other reason is associated with the low numbers of students going for training programs. Health Education Policies as well as Commonwealth Health Monetary Regulations are among the laws practiced in Australia that contribute to the healthcare workforce shortages. Other laws in play include the federal policies that have been in play since 1980’s (AIHW 2017).
All the laws are, therefore, influencing all the number of medical institutions in the country. On the same, the government’s response first had its basis on the increasing cost of medical services as a result of the increased number of services to be given to each person. However, such responses are catalyzed by the low population-to-doctor ratio which is currently at 1:413 from 1:485 (Kamalakanthan and Jackson 2006). The same has been part of the factors that has led to the creation of doctor’s shortages. Alternatively, the government has come up with the Health Insurance Amendment Act to help respond to the issue of cost pressures regarding Australian health systems leading to the oversupply of doctors from overseas.
According to a survey performed in India, more than twenty percent of the 16,000 or so medical practitioners work or hope to be working overseas within the next six years. The number of medical trainees hoping to leave the country to work abroad was even higher, with the value being at 23% (Kamalakanthan and Jackson 2006).
As much as Australia suffers issues to do with insufficient number of doctors, recruitment of foreign medical practitioners has been quite difficult from countries like Britain and India due to the fact that such nations also face the same turmoil. However, the recruitment of doctors that are trained oversees by the help of the policies of the medical resource incorporate what are known as ‘Area of Need’ provisions. Such a policy happens to be facilitating the need of doctors that are trained oversees to have the “Area of Need” filled (Lovell 2015). Apart from that, Australia uses the legislations that currently exist to facilitate the recruitment of doctor from other countries. Such legislations work in association with (QLD) Medical Practitioners Registration Act of 2001 and The Medical Practice Act of 1992. Other laws include the:
According to the policy of health law of Australia, the country is at free-will to recruit doctors. In addition to that, the 2005 review of Health Systems of Queensland actually recommends the establishment of departments known as the RAPTS for the purpose of recruiting, assessing, placing, training, and supporting foreign medical graduates into the country (Lovell 2015).
One of the reason as to why such laws and regulations were developed in Australia is geographical imbalance of healthcare providers. Such is caused by the increasing trend of brain drain that is rural-to-urban (Maria 2003). In developed as well as developing countries, there is a lot more doctors and medical practitioners in urban areas as compared to rural ones. Also, there is the likelihood of many healthcare professionals preferring to stay in areas that are more developed. Such is due to the fact that such areas offer more opportunities as well as amenities.
Regarding the issue of supply imbalance, the adopted dual system of healthcare provision in the country has led to such development. However, some of the reasons associated with the imbalance include unequal medical provider allocation. Such is due to the argument that health system characteristics like market failure lead to the aforementioned imbalance. In case the government attempts to have the market, failures corrected via intervention policies, having the same implemented would still be difficult (Maria 2003).
A country’s health population gets determined by several factors some of which are not even directly linked with the health sector. Regarding the same, Australia’s public medical system is entirely financed by the government hence its ability to recruit as many foreign medical practitioners as possible (Maria 2003).
Provision of health services largely depend on human resources. The same consumes approximately eighty percent of expenditure of the public health sector. However, both social and economic factors influence the distribution and retention of human resources. Australia lacks the medical man-power thus owing to the high recruitment patterns already experienced (Maria 2003).
Health professional’s migration from one country to another is termed as “brain drain.” When such migration processes continue, a country from which the migrations are undertaken hinders the economic development pace of a country.
As mentioned before health services provisions almost entirely depend on human resources. Since India has a large number of healthcare practitioners willing to work abroad, the number of medical service providers has been massive (AIHW 2017).
With the massive exodus of healthcare providers to foreign countries, healthcare provision within the country is largely hindered.
Currently, there are few comprehensive development strategies or plans within the health sectors of Australia and India with regards to the WHO Global Code. Regarding India, development of the health staff happens not to be in place. Also, the academic institutions particularly not linked to the nation’s demands. With regards to Australia’s admission policies, more attention needs to be given to the same. The policies also need to be realistic as well as primary healthcare thoroughly overlooked. There should also be coordination within the health ministries, training institutions, and universities to meet the healthcare service demands of the whole population (AIHW 2017).
As much as it is unlikely to have the issue of healthcare service provider shortage solved soon enough, there are several steps ought to be taken by the government of Australia to reduce migration levels. Even before having the policies made, those involved in the making of the same need to realize that the reliance on foreign medical practitioners to fill the supply gaps happens not to be a perfect solution. Due to such reasons, it is absolutely vital to have the crisis solved via management overhaul of the health docket of Australia. Such a situation will, as a result, create a room for having the medical schools within Australia increase their student intake for the medical courses as well as have the fund allocation increased.
Conclusion
With regards to the outbursts of WHO Director General; the late Jong-wook: Acute shortage of health practitioners that are well trained do exist world-wide. However, the same is mostly felt by nations that require the same majorly. With regards to some of the reasons that lead to the same; like migration of Medicare providers as well as nations not being able to sustain and educate their workforce (AIHW 2017).
As much as the situation is in a position of worsening as years pass with the demands for provision of services escalating in Australia, globalization need there to be harmony between nations. On the same, Australia is in a position of ensuring that it exemplarily performs well with regards to formulation of ethical policies that would ensure that medical service provider migration is mitigated or controlled (AIHW 2017). On the contrary, India has the ability to take part in the formulation of global policies on the same to reduce the number of medical professionals emigrating.
All in all, this research activity generally discussed the social and ethical impacts of medical practitioner shortage globally. This activity also examined the way in which Australia responds to the crisis mentioned herein. In addition, the discussion argued out that, as much as the health regulations and policies of Australia are supposed to be responsive with regards to the shortage of healthcare workforce, such policies should never be responsible for the impacts of migration
References
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