The Consumers Health Forum welcomes the extension of Medicare coverage for telehealth consultations for GPs, allied health and specialists to the end of 2021. To be able to consult with your health care provider by phone or video was an important step in making ongoing healthcare safer for patients...

A new Consumer Report Card on Australia’s Health System finds that significant areas including mental health and cost barriers to care present issues of concern. The Consumers Health Forum has studied 12 indicators against historical and international measures to report on health system performance...

The health system in Australia would benefit significantly by paying more attention to the lessons learned from patient experience, the Consumers Health Forum says. This is a key message from the latest edition of the Health Voices ejournal published this month which covers the recent Shifting...

The challenges facing young people in the health system and potential remedies are aired by Youth Health Forum leaders in a new video released today. The video features two young health leaders, Jasmine Elliott and Roxxanne MacDonald, explaining the challenges for young people in transitioning from...

The Consumers Health Forum welcomes the start of the 1b phase of the COVID vaccination roll out to older people and other vulnerable groups, urging the importance of the need for community patience and two-way communication between health authorities and consumers. The success of Australia’s...

The report of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System aligns in many ways with the recent report of the Productivity Commission, strengthening the impetus for more effective and equitable care and support Australia-wide, the Consumers Health Forum of Australia says. “The Victorian...

Health concession cards to help young people afford health care is one of several steps urged by a report for the Youth Health Forum which has found the challenges facing young Australians include that nearly half experience high psychological stress and cost barriers to care. The report Life...

The Federal Government must show it is serious about overhauling the shameful state of aged care by immediately committing to four central challenges: substantially lift funding, establish rigorous quality and safety standards, introduce total system transparency and improve health care. The report...

The Consumers Health Forum says the proposed new JobSeeker rate of just $25 a week extra fails to recognise the economic and health damages that low incomes inflict on people. CHF argues the Government should set the JobSeeker rate at $65 a day. “Australians accepted the good sense of a substantial...

A report on loneliness, an issue which clouds the lives of many Australians and exposes them to increased risk of depression and other illness, has called for a national plan of action to address the often unrecognised condition. Fifteen per cent of Australians were considered to be experiencing...