There seem to be several threads:
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Public Hospitals are full / almost full / over full -
Hospitals run at near capacity most of the time, hence the waiting lists for inpatient treatment, especially for “less urgent” conditions.
Would be a waste of resources (money, staff, infrastructure) to have an excess proportion of staff and facilities to not be doing anything - how much should be left for peak demand is a complex matter.
How much is too much?
Private hospitals also run close to capacity, which allows more patients to be cared for and to maximise hospital revenue (they are businesses after all, some are not-for-profit while some are listed on the ASX)
Private hospitals do not always have a bed vacancy for every condition, and some waiting is required, although likely to be less than in the public system for NON-emergency conditions.
Australia’s public health system is among the best in the world (yes, really - and no, I don’t work for any).
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The value (or not) of private health insurance, legislated limitations, price, etc
Huge topic, see various government enquiries:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/completed_inquiries
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Information about prior health conditions, tests and treatments is not readily available across the country, may need repeated, etc.
Each state runs that state’s public hospitals. They tend to develop their own electronic health record, each of which is poorly compatible with those of other states, the private hospitals, and the rest of the health system outside the hospitals (GP, private specialists, pathology and other testing places, physio, etc).
The non-hospital lot have developed ways to communicate and access information as needs and options have arisen. This has been developed and paid for by these companies. State governments do not believe they have any responsibility to/for anything not within the public hospital system (references available if desired).
The Federal government has had minimal role in improving information transfer within the entire health systems, despite the billions spent on the PCEHR / My Health Record (huge topic, see threads elsewhere on this site)
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State and Federal governments, varying roles and responsibilities across the decades in a geographically very large country.
So: anybody got any useful suggestions to address these complex matters?