Published in The Australian on Thursday, July 7, 2011

Setting targets without providing adequate resources is not health reform. In fact, it promotes worse health care as clinicians and bureaucrats waste valuable time working out how to pretend to meet unachievable targets whilst leaving the real needs of patients unattended.

Whilst it makes a big play of reducing inefficiencies and inequities in the private health insurance rebate and the Medicare Safety net, the Federal Government is largely ignoring the fact that more resources and new structures are needed to reform the system so that all patients can afford to get the care they need and deserve

Tim Woodruff
Vice President
Doctors Reform Society

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Richmond
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