Achieving equity in the Australian healthcare system

To the Editor: In response to Leeder,1 there is no community in this world that can provide free, at the point of contact, healthcare for all its citizens to the current limits of modern medical technology. This problem will in fact become greater as the technology increases and becomes more expensive.

Within the available healthcare resources, there is some medical treatment that is essential and there is some that is quality-of-life treatment; where the two merge depends on one’s point of view.

If you choose to play sport and injure your knee, the question of who should pay for the treatment arises. If you smoke or have any other lifestyle risk factors, how much should be funded by you, and how much by others? And, within a healthcare system where there is patient contribution, does this contribution empower and encourage individuals to adopt a healthy lifestyle?

In essence, I believe the debate in healthcare should be about accessibility of limited resources. Who draws the line, how is the line drawn, and at what level is it drawn?

Pouring money into the public health sector may well parallel the analogy of adding another lane to the motorway. We must be careful to share the responsibility of healthcare between the individual and the healthcare providers in an inclusive and not exclusive manner.