Journal of health services research & policy
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J Health Serv Res Policy · Oct 2004
Do different types of nurses give different triage decisions in NHS Direct? A mixed methods study.
To determine whether nurses with different clinical backgrounds make different triage decisions in NHS Direct, the 24-hour telephone helpline staffed by nurses. ⋯ There is no likely benefit in narrowing nurse recruitment to particular clinical backgrounds. The appropriateness of triage decisions still needs to be evaluated.
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J Health Serv Res Policy · Oct 2004
Pricing of general practice in Australia: some recent proposals to reform Medicare.
In the Australian Medicare system, general practitioners (GPs) are paid on a fee-for-service basis. A practitioner can choose to bill the government directly (termed bulk billing) and receive 85% of a regulated fee as full payment. Bulk billed consultations are free to the patient. ⋯ A key feature of the proposal involved changes to the way that GPs are reimbursed. Following political opposition that would have prevented it passing both houses of the federal parliament, a revised version, MedicarePlus, was released in November 2003. This paper describes the factors influencing a GP's choice to bulk bill and examines the two proposals, in this context.
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J Health Serv Res Policy · Oct 2004
Health services research in Australia: an investigation of its current status.
The objectives of this audit were to document the current status of health services research (HSR) in Australia in terms of inputs and outputs. Inputs were defined as the number of organised centres or groups undertaking HSR, the extent to which HSR was being developed and the funding available for HSR. Outputs were measured as the number of peer-reviewed papers. ⋯ Although HSR is widespread in Australia, no specific training appears to be available to build capacity. Overall, HSR is not well-funded especially by organisations outside the NHMRC or Australian Research Council. Thus, it is not surprising that the output of Australian HSR, in terms of peer-reviewed articles, is slight.