http://www.health.act.gov.au/publications/actionplan/draft.pdf
CONSULTATION DRAFT
HEALTH ACTION PLAN
P 13 It is also expected that the use of hospital services will increase in the coming years, particularly in the areas related to chronic diseases experienced by older people. Specialty areas in which the strongest growth in demand is expected include cancer services, orthopaedics, cardiology and respiratory medicine. Better information flows between providers will be a key to supporting providers working together. The development of information technology that makes it easier for information about patient care to be communicated between providers is being pursued. It will be essential that this information is transmitted in a secure, confidential way, and that consumer consent to transfer information is received.
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P 18 Screening programs We will work to bring the participation rates of women in breast and cervical screening programs up to national target coverage levels.
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P 33 Information Access to information about health issues and services for the public will be improved through on-line and telephone-based information services and other means as appropriate.
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P 35 Cancer We will ensure that a full range of services are available for people with cancer, from acute hospital services to those provided by community organisations, and that the service delivery model continues to meet growing and changing demands and keeps pace with modern techniques and technology.
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P 41 Table 1: Selected health indicators, ACT and Australia Indicator Year ACT Australia ACT compared with States and NT Causes of death (standardised rate per 100,000 people) Ischaemic heart disease 1999 103 122 Lowest; Cancer 1999 160 (ACT) 166 (Aust) Lowest
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P 43 In 1999, all the main underlying causes of death for the ACT were below the corresponding rates for Australia. This is largely because the ACT population is substantially younger than the total Australian population. However, the death rate in the ACT for the category of .external causes. (accidents, poisoning, and violence) was similar to the whole of Australia. Table 3: Principal causes of death, ACT, 1995 - 1999 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Malignant neoplasms (cancer) 32.8% 28.9% 27.5% 30.1% 29.9% Source: ABS, Causes of Death, Catalogue No. 3303.0
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P 44 Cancer The lifetime risk associated with developing cancer for people in the ACT is 1 in 3 for men and 1 in 4 for women. Major causes of death were cancers of the trachea, bronchus and lung, colorectal cancer, prostate cancer in males, and breast cancer in females. Preliminary data suggests a trend to a decreasing rate of mortality due to breast cancer in the ACT, with the rate per 100,000 decreasing from 31.0 for the period 1994 to 1998 to 29.2 per 100,000 for the period 1996 to 2000. However the decrease is small and national data for the equivalent years is not yet available for comparison. The higher mortality due to breast cancer may be explained by the higher incidence of breast cancer in the ACT, as the mortality/incidence ratio (a rough indicator of survival) observed in the ACT (0.27) is only slightly higher than reported nationally (0.24). A discussion paper on the incidence of and mortality due to breast cancer in the ACT is being prepared.
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P 45 The ACT and South East NSW Breast Cancer Treatment Group are undertaking a study to improve breast cancer treatment to reduce deaths from breast cancer and to improve the quality of life of cancer patients. The project, managed by BreastScreen, will:
In 1999 there were 398 deaths from cancer in the ACT, which makes this condition the second highest cause of death in the ACT (30%). Although the male death rate from cancer is lower than that of Australia as a whole, the female rate is slightly higher.