Doing the Right Thing for a Safer Healthcare System

Product Description

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Supporters

Regulations, guidelines and standards are the corner stone of any good system. One of the key systems in any country is its healthcare system. The health system is critical to enable the survival of its greatest asset – MANKIND!

When the “health” of the healthcare system comes into question, and rides a complacent “chronic” cycle, the impact and pressure on clinicians and healthcare providers begins a dangerous, insidious impact on patient care.

My name is Joyce McSwan, I have been working in the Pain Sector for many years now and recently I have witnessed clinicians withdraw their services to vulnerable patient populations due to their anxiety and stress caused by reactive “policing” audits by current healthcare payment systems that are based on unclear clinical “quotas”, which have unnecessarily sent both patients and clinicians into reactive, defensive practices.

THE RESULT:

The outcome for the patient: Increasing use of emergency department services (due to rapid medication withdrawals), decrease in quality of life due to anxiety and distress of who will care for them, self-guided management due to loss of care confidence, doctor shopping (in desparation to can find someone to care for them).

The outcome for the clinician: Fear based practices, job dissatisfaction, audit anxiety and fatigue, losing of meaning and purpose of practice, potential impact on how patient care decisions are made, ethical dilemma of which two masters do I serve “the patient or the auditor”.

We are NO further ahead!

Let me clarify a few things:

1/ We live in a fortunate country that allows democracy

2/ To enable a country to be the best it can be, the “status quo” of a system we have grown out of will not propel us forward

3/ Challenging change should be welcomed if we are to be progressive

3/ Regulations, guidelines and standards are necessary if they are “healthy”, if not then a diagnosis has to be made and the system questioned and reviewed.

4/ The health of the clinician is as important as the health of the patient for ultimately a SAFE healthcare system

5/ Audits are most necessary if they are supportive, provides adequate mentoring, humanised and encourages learning from one’s deficits.

6/ Policing and reactive methods (within the clinical sector) to bring about change do not change anything.

There is a landmark legal case that will allow for a Better, Fairer, Simpler and Safer healthcare system for all Australians (clinician, patient and care providers) – Karmakar vs The Federal Health Minister

This landmark test case will be the first of its kind to put the interest of clinicians and patient rights first.

I have come across Dr. Karmakar’s case and attest to the facts of this case as being the following:

1) To challenge that by addressing these fundamental necessities of the healthcare system, patient care can be optimised

2) To challenge the fairness of the process involved in interrogating and penalizing clinicians

3)To challenge the lack of natural justice and opaqueness of current audit interrogations which is counterproductive to the very purpose of these interrogations

Dr. Karmakar, after recommendation from several clinicians and colleagues has voluntarily engaged an elite legal team (QC Julian Burnside an astute Human rights advocate and his team) to challenge these simple requirements for a “healthy” healthcare system.

Up until now she has been studying law herself, self-litigating and fighting this battle on her own.

However such a complex legal case that challenges what has been a complacent and accepted “normal” practice of today, needs professional support and thus, we are putting together this funding to help her team work for a fairer, clearer and productive healthcare system.

Dr. Karmakar and her legal team does not have any monetary benefit from this claim. She is not claiming any damages. On the contrary, the cost of courage in bringing this to light may become a financial risk to her. Despite the risk to herself, her incredible resolve to stand for ‘WHAT IS RIGHT’ in the interest of patient and clinician care now allows all of us to play our part in having a say.

To have your say in this, please consider supporting this fund so that we can transparently create a SAFER healthcare system for all.

You deserve this, generations to come deserves this!

Any small contribution, will go a long way to save on the wastage currently spent on a system that is riding a “chronic” disease in itself.

*Donations can be anonymous for your privacy*

Recent Articles that provides further background:

1/ https://www.healthandlife.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PSR-is-facing-a-High-Court-challenge.pdf

2/https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/david-goliath-medical-billing-investigations-doctors-anchita-karmakar/

Anonymous

6 years ago

$200

James Churchman

6 years ago

$100

Anonymous

6 years ago

$25

Anonymous

6 years ago

$1000

Dough McClelland

$0

Joyce Mcswan

$0

Joyce Mcswan

Dough McClelland

Joyce Mcswan