Health services for rural and regional areas

Distance from major capital cities means that older Australians in rural and regional areas have unique healthcare needs. These needs are addressed by programs and services including:

• Rural Chronic Disease Initiative
• Healthy Horizons
• Enhanced Rural and Remote Pharmacy Package
• Easyclaim Facilities
• Viability Supplement
• The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
• Support for Women With Breast Cancer
• Rural Health

Rural Chronic Disease Initiative

The Rural Chronic Disease Initiative (RCDI) aims to address the health problems facing small rural and remote communities, including Australians over 50.
Twenty-nine projects have been funded to develop and implement local approaches to chronic disease prevention and management strategies.
A number of projects focus specifically on assisting older Australians to prevent and better manage chronic disease and preventable injury in small, rural communities.

Healthy Horizons

The Healthy Horizons Framework is a collaborative effort between the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments and the National Rural Health Alliance, the peak non-government body working to improve the health of Australians living in rural and remote areas.

The Healthy Horizons Framework aims to provide direction for the development of strategies and allocation of resources for rural and remote areas.
The Framework also provides guidance for communities and organisations on ways to improve health and well-being.

Enhanced Rural and Remote Pharmacy Package

The Australian Government provides a range of allowances to pharmacies to maintain and increase access to quality pharmacy services in rural and remote communities.

Payments are structured so that the greatest support is provided to pharmacies in the most remote towns. A limited number of allowances are also available to provide assistance in those more remote areas where there is a need for a community pharmacy, or where it has been difficult to attract a pharmacist. For more information, visit the Rural Health.

Easyclaim Facilities

In addition to 101 rural Medicare offices, an Australia-wide network of self-service Medicare telephone claiming booths and pharmacy based facsimile machines have been installed in more than 1,000 rural and country townships.

Medicare Easyclaim telephone booths and facsimile machines provide a simple, quick way for people in outer metropolitan, rural and remote areas to claim Medicare benefits without having to drive long distances or wait for transactions and queries to be handled by mail. Medicare Easyclaim telephone booths put you in direct contact with a Medicare operator who can answer your query or process your claim for payment. In most cases you will receive payment either by cheque or directly into your bank account.

Viability Supplement

The Viability Supplement program aims to improve the capacity of small, rural aged care services to offer quality care to older Australians.
Viability Funding is paid to eligible aged care services in addition to standard residential care funding.

The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia

The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia is one of the better known health service organisations who deliver services to people living in rural and remote areas. For additional information you can visit their web site.

Support for Women With Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cause of death in Australian women. Over 70% of breast cancers occur in women over 50. Women aged from 50 to 69 who have regular two-yearly mammograms can reduce their chance of dying from breast cancer by up to 50%.

In light of this, and the difficulty that older women in rural and regional Australia sometimes have accessing support services, the Australian Government has provided funding to provide support services to women living in regional and remote areas. These services are available through The National Breast Cancer Centre.

Rural Health

The Department of Health and Ageing has a specific site for the health issues of rural and remote Australians called simply Rural Health.

The National Rural Health Alliance is a peak body working to improve the health of Australians in rural and remote areas. It is comprised of twenty-three Member organisations, representing both health consumers and service providers in non metropolitan areas. For further information you can visit their website.