The importance of self care & health literate consumers

Deon SchoombieAustralian Self Medication Industry

Self Care• WHO definition:…."activities individuals, families, and communities undertake with the intention of enhancing health, preventing disease, limiting illness and restoring health. These activities are derived from knowledge and skills from the pool of both professional and lay experience. They are undertaken by lay people on their own behalf, either separately or in participative collaboration with professionals.”

• Segall & Goldstein: Self care is the basic level of healthcare in all societies.

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Parliamentary  Breakfast  Canberra

What self care is not

• No care• Leaving people to fend for themselves• Diverting people away from healthcare

services• What individuals do instead of going to the

doctor, it’s what they do between visits.

Why self care is important

“I  visit  my  neurologist   twice  a  year,   for  about   30  minutes.   That   is  one  hour  per  year.  The  rest  of  the  year’s  8,765  hours,   I  spend   in  self-­care.   Sara  Riggare (Parkinson’s  Sufferer  since  the  age  of  13)

Changing demographics

Growing population: total/+65• Today: 23.6 million/3.45 million• 2044: 38.7 million/7.75 millionAgeing society: median age• Today: 37.3• 2044: 40.0Increased longevity:• Today: 82.1• 2044: 90.4Decreasing supply:• Declining workforce: decreasing ratio of workers/retired couples• Ageing workers: increasing median age• Half of workforce will be of retirement age in 15 years

Challenges facing the health & care sector

How to more effectively and sustainably manage the ageing population, growing burden of chronic disease and rapidly increasing costs?

How to increase the economic participation and productivity of all Australians?

The case for self care in Australia

• Translating greater personal responsibility into practice

• Recognise citizens as a healthcare resource, not passive recipients

• Making better use of healthcare resources

Report by Global Access Partners (GAP)

Towards Responsible Self Care – the role of health literacy, pharmacy & non-prescription

medicines

http://www.globalaccesspartners.org/GAP_Taskforce_on_Self_Care_Report_released_23_June_2015.pdf

Health literacy

The WHO defines health literacy as the cognitive and social skills and ability of individuals to gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health.

Health literacy helps individuals and families adopt healthy lifestyles, avoid disease and injury, make appropriate health decisions and navigate the health system successfully.

Benefits

• Manage common/minor ailments• Improve ability to manage more serious conditions• Help navigate the health system & make appropriate

choices• Maintain healthy lifestyles• Keep appointments • Improve adherence

The role of pharmacists

• Well-positioned as first port of call• Need to assume greater role in primary

healthcare• Help ease the workload on GPs• Community pharmacies transformed into health

centres

Changes required

• Culture shift between GPs & pharmacists• Space for private consultations in pharmacies• Adequate record keeping• Remuneration for services• Multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve

meaningful change

The value of non-prescription medicines

Impact of top 8 medicines:– Cost to government: A$2.5bn– Indirect costs: A$10bn

Rescheduling 11 Rx medicines to OTC:– Cost to government: A$1bn– Indirect costs: A$1bn

Overall dollar spent/dollar saved:– US: US$1/US$7– Australia: A$1/A$4

Recommendations

• Increased investment in health literacy• Introduce in school curricula• Incentives for healthcare professionals & other stakeholders to

support greater self care• Opportunities for private health insurers – expand payment for

integrated primary care• Greater role for pharmacists in primary healthcare• Address regulatory obstacles to increase access to medicines

consistent with NMP• e-health record for all medicines & management of minor/common

ailments• Support the multi-stakeholder Self Care Alliance

Why the Self Care Alliance?

• Self care is beyond the capacity of Government to mandate or any single group to bring about.

• It requires:– Ownership and action by participants from all

domains of the Health and Care Sector– Collaboration on the issues and solutions– Commitment by all participants to the solutions– Contribution by Government in the areas where only

Government can move

What is the Self Care Alliance?

The Alliance is a member based NFP organisation that:• Is the neutral space to pool knowledge and expertise• Acts as the umbrella body to foster dialogue and

facilitate and initiate collaboration to develop policies and implement self care initiatives

• Acts as a repository of expert advice for stakeholders, media and the wider community

The on ground work of development and implementation of initiatives will be led by Alliance members and partners.

Vision & Guiding Principles

Vision:Adoption and implementation of self care as a core element of asustainable National Health and Care Sector for Australia thatdelivers:• Improved Health Outcomes for all Australians• Appropriate and innovative solutions that meet the needs of the

Australian Community in the 21st Century• Increased economic participation and productivity by all Australians

Guiding principles:• Whole of Health and Care Sector approach• Evidence-based solutions• Person-centred, whole of life continuum focus• National framework with distributed action• Collaborative partnerships and shared responsibility for action• Empowered citizens

Who is involved?

• Universities• Research  Facilities• Other  Education  &  Training

• E  Health• Medical  Devices• Data  Management  &  Analytics

• Funders  (Public  &  Private)

• Financial  &  Professional  Services

• Health• Ageing• Disability• Carers

• Professional  Bodies• Peak  Bodies,  Health,  Wellness,  Ageing  &  Disability

• Provider  Organisations

• PHN’s  &  LHHS’s• Pharma

Clinical  &    Service  Delivery

Consumer  Voice

Research  &  

Education

Technology  &  Industry  Support

Foundation activities

1. Create the capacity to build on excellent work done or underway in self care both in Australia and internationally

2. Progress action on the following questions:– What is already happening in self care or being planned in Australia?– What have we learnt from current and past initiatives?– How do we expand the evidence-base to support policy and

operational change?– How might successful initiatives be scaled and replicated across the

Australian Health and Care Sector?– What opportunities exist to implement self care and how might they

be resourced and activated?– Who is best placed to lead the various initiatives on behalf of the

Alliance?

Where to next?

The Alliance is continuing to:• Engage with Organisations from all domains of the Health and

Care Sector interested in contributing to the development of self care in Australia

• Build its membership and leadership capability• Establish and activate working groups in key areas to support the

development of self care in Australia• Effective self care is not the whole answer but is a fundamental

pillar of successful mid to long term reform of the Health and Care Sector.

info@SelfCareAlliance.org.au

Thank you

deon@asmi.com.au