Australian health review : a publication of the Australian Hospital Association
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Laparoscopic surgery continues to evolve and to offer major potential for achieving benefits to patients and to health care providers because of decreased morbidity. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy has diffused rapidly and widely. However, the spread of other minimal access surgery methods has been more gradual, reflecting uncertainties as to the degree of benefit and rate of change of technology. Firm evidence of efficacy and costs of the new methods is still limited, and a number of organisational issues continue to demand attention.
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Australian political leaders and policy analysts have increasingly sought to learn from Singapore, a nation which, despite its small size and lack of natural resources, has enjoyed rapid economic growth. Of particular interest to Australian policymakers has been Singapore's compulsory superannuation system, which has provided high levels of domestic savings and high levels of home ownership; it has also incorporated a scheme to enable Singaporeans to save for the costs of health care. ⋯ Saving for health care costs has been a largely neglected option in recent policy debate about reforming funding arrangements for hospital care in Australia. The potential for a formalised scheme for medical savings in Australia, subsidised by taxation concessions, is explored in terms of its socioeconomic policy implications, its congruence with Australian values, and the logistical ramifications of such a scheme.