Improving bases and processes for health priority setting
Regardless of funding mechanisms, the healthcare system will be faced with demand for health and preventive care that will exceed available funding at any point in time. Policy-makers, healthcare managers and clinicians are faced with tough decisions about what needs should be addressed first from available resources.
Recent reports such as the Australian Government's recent Inter-generational Report and the UK Wanless Report, indicate that these demands will continue to increase. This research stream looks at methods for priority setting and considers how these can be incorporated into health policy setting. Important research questions include:
How can consumers contribute to health priority setting? What constitutes 'best practice' in health priority setting? How can experiences from overseas be translated into the Australian environment? How can policy-makers move beyond the governments election cycle in developing health policy solutions?
How can consumers contribute to health priority setting?