Abstract
Australia has a well-balanced public-private healthcare system and the governments play significant roles in designing, resourcing and executing health policies that underpin this across the country. In addition, Australians consistently rate health and hospitals as one of the top issues which influences their votes. At the crossroad of information, ideas and interests are our democratic political system and the communication through multiple media channels.
Medical leadership is inextricably linked to politics, policies and media. The complexity of the environment demands a strong understanding how these elements operate and interact at different levels. Healthcare and medical leaders are expected to have the ability to competently navigate the system so to improve patient care and influence health policies at the same time.
Being able to identify issues and articulate solutions to key decision makers in the appropriate context is a vital competency. Effective medical leaders should lever the specialised knowledge of structure and process design of governments and public service to optimise health policy outcomes. This will in turn enable organisations to communicate strategically in order to positively contribute and influence policy debate with stakeholders and the public.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Infosheet 20, The Australian System of Government, The Australian Parliament House website, Parliament of Australia, Canberra. 2018. www.aph.gov.au/about-parliament.
Factsheets, Australia’s Prime Ministers Centre, Museum of Australian Democracy, Canberra. 2018. http://moadoph.gov.au/democracy/.
Reform of the Federation White Paper, Issues Paper 3, Roles and Responsibilities in Health, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, The Australian Government, Canberra. 2014. www.federation.dpmc.gov.au.
The Council of Australian Governments website, The Australian Government, Canberra. 2018. www.coag.gov.au.
The Department of Health website, The Australian Government, Canberra. 2018. www.health.gov.au.
Australia’s Health 2016. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Canberra; 2016, p. 2.
The Australian Public Service Commission, The Australian Government, Canberra. 2018. www.apsc.gov.au.
The Australian Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, The Australian Government, Canberra. 2018. www.privatehealth.gov.au.
The Australian Electoral Commission. https://www.aec.gov.au/.
Budget, The Treasury Department, The Australian Government, Canberra. 2018. www.budget.gov.au.
The Council of Australian Governments Health Council website, The Australian Government, Canberra. 2018. www.coaghealthcouncil.gov.au.
Roy Morgan newspaper readership poll, Sydney. 2015. http://www.roymorgan.com/industries/media/readership/newspaper-readership.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners website, The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, Melbourne. 2018. www.racgp.org.au.
The Australian Medical Association website, The Australian Medical Association, Canberra. 2018. www.ama.com.au.
Thackeray R, Neiger B, Smith AK, Van Wagenen S. Adoption and use of social media among public health departments. BMC Public Health. 2012;12:242.
Moreira JP. A framework for responsive health policy and corporate communication. Corp Commun Int J UK. 2007;12(1):8–24.
Falkheimer J. The power of strategic communication in organisational development. Int J Qual Serv Sci Sweden. 2014;6(2/3):124–33.
Further Reading
Australia’s Health 2018, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australian Government, 2018.
Australia’s Welfare 2017, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australian Government, 2017
Australia’s Prime Ministers: from Barton to Howard, Brian Carroll, Rosenberg Publishing Pty Ltd., 2004.
Factsheets, Australia’s Prime Ministers Centre, Museum of Australian Democracy, 2018.
Tiernan A, Weller P. Learning to be a minister: Heroic expectations, practical realities. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press; 2010.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ng, B. (2019). Politics, Policies and Media. In: Loh, E., Long, P., Spurgeon, P. (eds) Textbook of Medical Administration and Leadership. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5454-9_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5454-9_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-5453-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-5454-9
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)