THE FIRST OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF MEDICAL VOUCHERS

That I know of, anyway. From Australia:

Queensland Health Minister Gordon Nuttall has been embroiled in the so-called "Dr Death" scandal after a senior bureaucrat yesterday disputed his claim that he had never been warned about problems with overseas-trained doctors. Three months after telling a local newspaper his department had not briefed him on concerns over the competencies of overseas-trained doctors before the furore erupted over Indian-trained American surgeon Jayant Patel, Mr Nuttall yesterday stood by his comments in a parliamentary budget estimates hearing. Under questioning from Opposition health spokesman Stuart Copeland, Mr Nuttall at first agreed to let the department's senior executive director of health services, John Scott, and director-general Steve Buckland elaborate on how he had not received a briefing on the issue.

But Dr Buckland was never given the opportunity to speak on the issue as Dr Scott, who plans to leave the department and return to medicine, directly contradicted the minister. "Certainly, my understanding is that in discussions that I had had with the minister's office and with the minister in the past, either on the basis of one-to-one or in concert with other officers of Queensland Health, the issues had been raised," Dr Scott told the hearing. "But I think also that there have been other meetings in the past with outside agencies like the AMA or the Rural Doctors where I understood that those issues had been raised as well."

Mr Nuttall - who took the portfolio in February last year - accused Mr Copeland of trying to drive a wedge between him and the department and said the outside agencies should have made their concerns known to the Queensland Medical Board. "The issue around the competencies of overseas-trained doctors was never brought to my attention," Mr Nuttall said. But Mr Copeland said Mr Nuttall had put up a "fanciful charade that he did not know" and should be sacked.

Outside the hearing, Mr Nuttall denied that he or Dr Scott were lying, saying only that they had differing views. The Supreme Court will on Monday hold a directions hearing that may halt the "Dr Death" inquiry as Bundaberg Base Hospital's director of medical services, Darren Keating, has sought to shut it down.

In an effort to overcome the doctor shortage, which has led to Queensland's reliance on overseas-trained doctors, Mr Nuttall has offered to co-locate doctors at regional public hospitals free of charge and will test the arrangement at four sites in Queensland. He has also proposed periodical assessment of doctors' skills, a stronger partnership between the public and private sectors and a voucher system whereby patients could choose where to undergo treatment but still have the bills paid by the state.

Source

***************************

For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

Comments? Email me here. If there are no recent posts here, the mirror site may be more up to date. My Home Page is here or here.

***************************