Public health and health reform in Australia

Abstract

The national health reform agenda appears to have omitted public health. In this article, I outline how public health is different from primary care, and why a holistic approach to reform should include public health. The current reform agenda is very much focused on addressing the problems in acute care and the hospital system, with the focus on primary care being a means to this end. Until the health system is addressed as a whole, with all its essential components integrated and interlinked, truly successful reform of the health system, with genuine long-term vision and sustainability, will not be possible.