Applicants will be invited to propose topics of interest to them that they believe will advance the policy agendas of the two countries.

Below are examples of suggested topics around which applicants are encouraged to structure a project proposal. The aim of the Fellowship is to enrich policy thinking. Many topics of interest, development and the issues around health reform which are current in the US are equally relevant in Australia. Applicants are invited to propose topics of interest to them that they believe will advance the policy agendas of the two countries.  Studies which compare policy development, evaluate strategies, or compare aspects of health care practice are welcomed.

 Some suggested broad topic areas are provided here.

 Implementation of reform

• What are the particular challenges of reform in a federal system? How have they been overcome?
• How do the structures for policy coordination in Australia such as COAG compare to equivalent structures in the US, and how does this show up in the differing experiences of the reform process?

Governance of the health system

• How have the different States responded to their changed responsibilities?
• What process has been used to develop the service agreements?
• How have Local Health Networks realized the increased clinical and management autonomy? Have there been unintended effects?

Performance reporting

• How has performance reporting been implemented in the two countries?
• What are the levels of awareness in different target audiences for these reports? 
• How useful have the performance measures been for policy development?
• How do the performance reports address disadvantaged groups (such as indigenous, low socioeconomic groups)?

Activity Based Funding

• What are the challenges in developing a national payment model?
• How have incentives changed and what has been the impact?
• What factors explain variation in health care costs across populations?

Safety and quality

• What strategies have been used in Australia to improve safety and quality?
• How do these compare with US strategies? Have they been successful?

Coordination of care

• What strategies have Medicare Locals used to improve coordination of care? What have been successful?
• What lessons are there from the development of Medical Homes in the US for Australia?
• How do experiences in managing co-morbidities in the primary care context vary between Australia and the US?
• What are the problems and barriers to improved coordination of health care and aged care? Are there innovative programs that have imported this?

Use of IT

• How has the Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record been implemented? What is its acceptability?
• What IT based strategies have been successful in improving quality of care?

Patient-centered care

• What strategies have been successful in developing more patient centered care?
• How has consumer feedback been used in improving quality of care?

Health care workforce

• How effective are existing policy tools, financial incentives, and organizational arrangements for promoting the most efficient use of the health workforce or sectors of it?
• What flexibility is there for substitution across professional groups? How does this differ between Australia and the US?
• What approaches could be adopted to align the distribution of medical practitioners more closely with patterns of need, especially in rural and remote communities?

Health care financing

• What is the impact of out-of-pocket costs on the use and quality of health care?
• How transparent is the cost of pharmaceuticals and medical services to the consumer, compared to the US?  Does it make a difference to consumers? 
• Are pay for performance strategies likely to be effective in Australia? What other incentives should be considered?
• How have funding strategies enhanced quality improvements?
• What strategies are available to address the rising costs of pharmaceuticals?
• What has been the impact of recent changes to allow patients of professionals other than doctors to access Medicare benefits? 
• What are the longer term implications for the cost and quality of health services of such steps towards workforce “substitution”?

Prevention

• What strategies have been successful in encouraging preventive care in primary care? In hospitals? In aged care?
• What is distinctive about Australia’s approach to health promotion? How have programs addressed the needs of special groups?

Indigenous/Minority Health

• How effective are mainstream versus targeted services at addressing indigenous/minority health needs?
• How can differential approaches for under-serviced population groups contribute to these populations’ access to and quality of health care services?
• How effective are existing policy tools, financial incentives, and organizational arrangements for promoting the development of health professionals from indigenous and non-English speaking backgrounds?