A fundamental change in course is needed in the ways that healthcare systems operate, and urgent action is needed to help healthcare organisations survive and thrive amid successive waves of crises and challenges. This change needs to focus on a more inclusive approach to system reform in which the power of technology, community activation and workforces are leveraged together creating ecosystems that enable seamless interactions between local, national and global organisations.

This need for fundamental change post-pandemic is widely acknowledged within the Australian healthcare sector, with several state health systems setting out ambitious reform plans and the recent release of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce report. These changes will demand that we step beyond entrenched positions, collaborate across organisational and jurisdictional boundaries, and listen more carefully to less powerful voices, including those of consumers. 

The Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services in Australia serves as a model for empowering communities in the healthcare sector. Australia should look to this example as we seek to increase the role of patients, carers, and communities in the design of health services that better meet their needs.