When I moved to America, and over the following ten years of living there - to be without our public health system really opened my eyes to how much of an incredible asset that is to our country.
That the standard of care that is available to those of us with the fewest resources was equivalent to the kind of care only the most wealthy people in the US could afford absolutely blew my mind.
But a part of protecting our public health system is to make it as efficient as possible. To watch for wasteful spending, and to be sure that the best outcomes can happen for the most amount of people with the lowest cost.
It’s not perfect by any stretch.
Yet it’s still a superpower that we in Australia can be proud of.
So how do you make things more efficient?
How do we get better outcomes for people particularly when it comes to mental health?
Thankfully my guest today is an expert in these matters.
Professor Judith Gullifer is the Deputy Head of School and Senior Director of Education in the School of Psychological Science at Monash University, who are the sponsors of this episode.
Drawing on her time spent as a psychologist in rural Australia, Judith now works to make sure that health care professionals entering the workforce are equipped with everything they need to help people in the best way possible.
00:00 Introduction
02:33 Interview start
03:36 Psychology work
06:38 Community Health
17:31 Rural Health
11:34 Advocating for Yourself in Health
16:16 Cost of this Model
28:19 Making Higher Education Industry Relevant
36:40 What Judith gets out of her Work
37:20 Public Health System Challenges of Mental Health
41:53 Financial Impact of Mental Ill Health on Community
54:03 Good Mental Health and Productivity
58:32 How Judith keeps herself well
1:00:54 Appeals of Working in Health Care