A non-government health policy and research centre
Health Issues Centre Home Victorians Participate in Health Consumer Information
Health Issues Centre
Health Issues Centre
Navigation Bottom

Browse our resource library
Print this page Decrease text size Increase text size How to Use this site

INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS TO SUPPORT CONSUMER PARTICIPATION IN HEALTHCARE SETTINGS

COME AND TRAIN WITH VICTORIA’S HEALTH CONSUMER ORGANISATION
 Health Issues Centre is Australia's only provider of these accredited, innovative training programs for consumer leaders and health service staff. Enrolments for our 2013 courses are now open.
To view details of the course contents, click here:
 Consumer Leadership 2013 Course Outline
Vocational Graduate Certificate in Consumer Engagement 2013 Course Outline

To view the course information and registration form, click here:
 Accredited Training Program for 2013

Health services and organisations who have a group of 10 or more consumers or staff members wishing to do one of the courses can have it delivered on site for a substantial discount. Please contact us for further information.


WE HAVE A NEW LOCATION IN MELBOURNE'S CBD
 After many years at Latrobe University Bundoora, we have now relocated to:
 Health Issues Centre
 Level 8
 255 Bourke Street
 MELBOURNE VIC 3000
 Phone number: (03) 9664 9343
Fax number: (03) 9663 7955
We thank you for your continued support and welcome you to visit our new office
VICTORIA'S HEALTH CONSUMER ORGANISATION
Health Issues Centre is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that began in 1985 to promote equity and consumer perspectives in the Australian health system. Our mission is to improve the health outcomes for Australians, especially those who are disadvantaged. The focus of Health Issues Centre's work is mainly in Victoria but we take a national approach where appropriate. We work with a wide range of consumers, health providers, researchers, governments and other health organisations to achieve this through:

  • policy analysis and advocacy from consumer and equity perspectives
  • consumer-focused research
  • promoting and supporting consumer participation
  • disseminating information.


 SUBMISSION TO THE REVIEW OF HEALTH SERVICES CONCILIATION AND REVIEW ACT
 Health Issues Centre advocates that the Health Services (Conciliation and Review) Act should enshrine the centrality of consumer willingness to complain and the principles that would support this. Essentially, our submission starts from research indicating that consumers are less satisfied with the management of complaints than other parties and that this needs to be understood and addressed in this Review.
We argue that to be effective the health complaints system must respond to the expectations of health consumers. Our response to the Review focusses on what those expectations are, the extent to which they are met and what the principles underpinning a responsive complaints system might look like from a consumer perspective.

Key features of an effective health complaints handling system will aim to ensure consumer confidence in all three domains of fairness: procedures, communications and outcomes. Our submission builds on these fundamentals. It makes a range of recommendations for improvement in these and other areas.
 Submission to the HSCRA August 2012

ProjectParticipate!
 Enhance the participation of consumers in your Community Health Service, orient to participation standards under the Victorian Government policy Doing it with us not for us 2011-13, address relevant national accreditation and quality frameworks, and, build sustainable organisational, staff and consumer leadership capacity to drive improved patient-centred care, quality and safety, consumer co-design and community involvement.
ProjectParticipate! increases your organisation’s knowledge, skill and relationship capital by building capacity for sustainable community participation. Your staff will enjoy invaluable peer interaction with staff from diverse services such Medicare Locals, Community Health Services, Hospitals, and consumer organisations undertaking similar work. Under the expert mentoring, guidance and resourcing of Health Issues Centre staff, your staff and consumer leaders will themselves lead and learn from the Project by:
• Identifying current participation data, activities, policy, standards and stakeholders
 • Consulting with stakeholders to analyse current gaps and opportunities
• Developing an action-learning based community participation plan
 • Facilitating implementation and monitoring of the plan
 • Participating in the delivery of consumer leadership accredited training
 • Identifying and disseminating participation resources
 • Utilising participation networks in the health sector
 • Collecting and analysing participation data for internal and external reporting
 • Leading the review and improvement of the participation plan
This innovative program is now open to health services and community organisations. For further information, please contact Tere Dawson at t.dawson@healthissuescentre.org.au
 or call (03) 9664 9343.




E health record learning centre

The federal government have just launched a new website to support the rollout of the personally controlled electronic health record system,

This site includes the national eHealth record Learning Centre – a new online tool to help Australians learn about the personally controlled electronic health record system, to be introduced from July this year.
The Learning Centre features a range of information about the national eHealth record system and the infrastructure that will support it.
This online tool provides interactive features for the general public, who may be hearing about eHealth records for the first time, and for healthcare professionals who may be looking for more detailed material.
To visit the site, please go to:
 Ehealth.gov.au