2005 Media Releases
Thursday, 16 June 2005
Thai Health Officials at La Trobe University
La Trobe University is playing a leading role in an Australian study tour by a party of 30 high ranking Thai health officials.
The delegation consists of directors and senior staff of the Thai National Health Security Office, hospital directors and chief medical officers from the Ministry of Public Health and academics from Chulalolonkorn University.
They have come to learn about the Australian health care system under the auspices of the Australian Health Insurance Commission.
La Trobe University senior lecturer in Public Health, Dr Ken Harvey, was invited to Thailand earlier this year to talk about Australian pharmaceutical policy at an International Conference on Cost Containment in National Health Insurance Systems.
His talk stimulated interest in Thai officials learning more about the Australian health care system and resulted in this Australian study tour.
Dr Harvey said all health insurance systems are faced with the problem of selecting the most cost-effective heath interventions from the increasing proliferation of expensive new drugs and procedures and reconciling these with finite reimbursement budgets.
‘Thailand has recently instituted universal heath insurance coverage for its citizens (the 30 baht Scheme) and is thus particularly interested in Australian cost containment experience,’ Dr Harvey said.
The study tour starts in Melbourne at La Trobe University on Monday, 20 June, with a welcome by Professor Stephen Duckett, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences.
Professor Duckett will then give an introduction to the Australian Health Care System followed by an overview of Australian Health Care Financing. In the afternoon, Dr. Harvey will be speaking on Australian Medicinal Drug Policy and Investigative Medicine Policy.
During the week the party will visit a number of state and federal government departments and other organisations involved in the Australian health care system in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. The party returns to Thailand on Saturday 25 June, 2005.
For further information:
Please contact Dr Ken Harvey, Tel: 0419 181910 or La Trobe University Public Affairs Office, Tel: +61 3 9479 2316.