In a data briefing published in the last couple of days in the BMJ, there was an interesting graphic that indicated the public perception of the healthcare system. Although it isn’t particularly easy to find the source of the information in the Health Affairs cited by Appelby (an article with open access), the results are particularly striking for Australia.
While over 60% of the public in the UK believe that only minor changes are needed, around 75% of Australians believe that our health system needs fundamental changes or a complete rebuild. This perception is even more negative than the US, for which the system is widely known to be overly expensive and suffering from huge gaps in access for the disadvantaged.
adam g. dunn 