Australia Health

In Australia you will enjoy some of the best health care in the world, but make sure you have your overseas health care before you arrive:


Overseas Students Health cover

OSHC is Australia’s health cover for international students, Overseas Student Health Cover.  You will need to buy OSHC before you come to Australia to cover you from when you arrive to the end that you leave.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship requires you to maintain the OSHC for the duration of your time on a student visa in Australia.  Your institution can also be working closely with the OSHC.  Some websites provided by the Australian government are:  

Australian Health Management   www.ahm.com.au
BUPA Australia  www.overseasstudenthealth.com
Medibank Private  www.medibank.com.au
OSHC World care  www.oshcworldcare.com.au
West fund  www.westfund.com.au

OSHC is like every other health plan they will help you pay for your medical needs while on the Continent.  But it does not cover dental, optical of physiotherapy.  That is covered under private provider such as:

Private Health Insurance:

• Extra OSHC provided by some OSHC providers
• International travel insurance
• More information you can check out www.privatehealth.gov.au or www.iselect.com.au.

 
Keeping up a good health and health style

Taking care of yourself is very important, you know you should do exercise and physical activities.  Regular exercise is good for you and your body.  


Some rules that can help you have a better night of sleep are:  

• Try and getting out of bed when you first wake up instead of closing your eyes and staying in bed get up at the same time everyday will not only help you build a routine buy your body will get use to it and it helps with your sleep patterns, like not falling asleep every night at the same time can make it harder to not have a normal sleep pattern.
• Do some exercise in the morning, outside while taking in fresh air, and you will energize all through the day and it will help you wake up and through out the feel just feel better.
• Don’t nap during the day; if you do it could take you longer to fall asleep at night.
• Don’t use the time when you are laying in bed to think about all your problems about paying the bills, about school and things to do the next day, this time is for you and your body to relax to have a good night sleep so in the morning you are well rested to face the world.  Thinking about your problems will only make your anxious.
• Don’t go to bed to late, nor angry or with a full stomach and always remember to allow yourself at least 30 minutes ahead while you relax to fall asleep and wind down.
• Don’t study in bed, it’ll train your brain to think of your bed as a bad place; is not a place to study but a haven to rest and sleep.  
• Avoid alcohol and cigarettes fro a few hours before bed too.

These rules were provided by the Australian government student guide and I am sure you also have your own routine that you follow that helps you stay healthy and build a strong and better life, health wise.  
 
If you are having sleep problems, talk to a doctor they can have more helpful tips that in the end will help you get a good night’s rest.

Food and what you eat is just as important too.  Maybe you are use to just grabbing a snack when you feel the munchies, but is good to then eat at your regular hours and have fruits and vegetables when you feel you are getting healthy, is better for your body anyway.  

Some tips are:

• Don’t skip breakfast.  Eating breakfast everyday is a great way to begin your day, ‘it’s the most important meal of the day’, It kicks start your metabolism and gives you energy.
• Include lots of water throughout the day.  Dehydration causes tiredness, lost of energy, headaches, lack of concentration and plenty of health issues.  It is recommended to drink from 6 to 8 cups of water daily.
• Include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetable in your meals.  
• Enjoy food in a healthy way and start cutting out fast food, chips, chocolate, biscuits and soft drinks, more juice into your diet, grain rice, and whole wheat bread.

Sexual Health

Australia is a fairly liberal country, but it still means you need to be safe and protect yourself.  According to the student guide from the Australian Government  the rate of HIV and AIDS infection in Australia is quite low (about 0.1per cent of the population).  

Remember women can also take contraceptive to prevent pregnancies, the pill, and the shot; however remember these methods do not prevent against STIs and other sexually transmitted disease neither does the condom that the men use.

Condoms are available for purchase in supermarkets and chemists (also known as pharmacies or drugstores) and are there to help you not become pregnant.  They are inexpensive and available to anyone who wishes to purchase them.  The contraceptive pill is available by prescription from GPs.   

You always have the right to insisting that condom is to be used and if the man doesn’t practice with one you have the right to say no or you being the women can also use a condom.  Don’t let your guard down if you have been driving and you think that you make been a victim of sexual assault, or a friend was even if you are not sure but you vaguely remember contact the police or reach out to some one that can help like this Lifeline on 13 11 14.


Alcohol and other drugs

The legal age for a person to purchase cigarettes and alcohol is 18 and older.  However, if you look younger than 25 you will still be asked to show proof of your age by showing some type of photo ID card.  Buying, selling, or in possession of any types of drugs, marijuana, amphetamines and opiates, is against the law.  If you are caught you will face severe penalties, including fines, imprisonment and even deportation.

Smoking:

Smoking is allowed in Australia but is not recommended.  The long-term effects of smoking are well documented: cancer, heart disease, blood clogs, respiratory infections and strokes.  The short term include bad breath, smelly hair and clothes, stained fingers and teeth, it reduces physical fitness and a severe cough.  Smoking has been linked to depression and with the high cost to support a bad habit, is not really worth it.  High taxes are placed on cigarettes, making smoking a habit that sometimes can be unaffordable and can take you out of your budget.


Alcohol:

It is ok to have a drink every now and again if you chose to but don’t go over the limit that then you cannot remember what happened and don’t turn into a bad habit.  You need to be careful, men and women with who you drink, who is giving you the drink, who is with you and don’t drink and drive, pass the keys, take a taxi, the train, a fairy there are options.  And always use the buddy system, no matter what you are going to do or with who you are is best to be with someone else that you both arrive the same time and leave the same time, be each other accomplices so that nothing happens to neither one of you, nothing dangerous.   

Doctors

If you are in Australia for more than a semester, chances are you will have to visit a doctor before you leave.  You can be confident that Australian doctors are highly skilled and well educated.  The environment in which you will be treated will be clean and sanitary to receive healthcare.  


What kind of medical care to seek:

In Australia you should never seek help from a hospital emergency room (ER) unless you are in a life threatening situation, is not to say that you cannot visit an ER room when you feel is necessarily or life treating, but the fact is that people visit the ER even when is not an emergency situation and the people that do need to be treated for their condition needs to wait longer.  

Most nights of the week, hospital ERs become congested by people who want treatment for a cold or minor flu, headaches and minor injuries, when the purpose of an ER is for life treating medical conditions or real emergencies, such as you have just been in a terrible car accident and need help immediately or you are pregnant and you are going into delivery and the emergency room is the closest location.  

This puts a lot of stress on the doctors and nurses and puts the lives for people who are genuine need of care in jeopardy.  If people just visit their general practicing when suffering form the symptoms mentioned above and leave the emergency rooms for real emergencies it will be less hectic.  


General Practitioners or better known as your GPs

They treat any medical conditions that are not life - treating, a head cold, the flu, viruses, and the general symptoms.  They can take your blood, urine samples, check your blood pressure, your height and weight, give you injections and perform minor surgeries such as stitches and the removal of moles.  They also can perform gynecological exams.  If you need to see a GP, you can find the closest ones to you in the Yellow Pages (www.yellowpages.com.au).  

GPs either work in a private surgery, medical centre or with multiple GPs.  The service you get from GPs at private surgeries and medical centre are the same, doctors will be highly qualified and they will treat your case with complete confidentiality.  

Some personal questions you may be asked but are important that you answer the most truthful as possible will help give the doctor a better idea if something is not right.  If you feel uncomfortable with a particular doctor, you may request to see someone else, remember they are there to help and to make sure that the issues you went in complaining about get resolved as quickly and less painful as possible.

You will need to make an appointment, GPs do not usually visit you, nor have regular contact with you outside of your scheduled appointments, unless it is an emergency situation.  

The cost of visiting a doctor will usually be partly covered by OHSC, however you may have to pay the fee at the time of you doctor’s appointment and later seek reimbursement from your OHSC provider.
 

Private surgery/ Medical centre

You must book an appointment In advance and there is a time limit that you will need to wait.  Also keep in mind you can see the same doctor each time you visit and that doctor will already be familiar with you and your case.  It takes about another 2 weeks to set up the date for the appointment to visit the doctor again.  


Special doctors

In some cases you may need to visit a specialist, like an optician, and you might first need a referal, so make sure to inform your doctor that you need to visit a specialist that way you wont be going around in circles and all your paper work will be in order.   Specialist doctors are a lot more expensive than GPs, but some of their services might be covered under you Overseas Student Health Cover plan, it’s always best to verify first or ask your institution.  


Emergency room doctors

Emergency room (ER) doctors work in hospitals and treat patients with severe and life-threatening injuries or illnesses.  You can always call 000 if you or a friend needs urgent medical attention, you may be advised to go to a hospital or depending on the circumstances an ambulance will come and pick you up.  You will then receive the medical attention from ambulance staff or paramedics.
 

Prescription medication

Some General patricians can dispense medication differently to what you are used to.  It’s common not to receive medication for things like the flu or stomach bug, but you can always purchase over the counter medicine for these symptoms and pain related in your chemist, known as drugstores or pharmacy and in some supermarkets.   

If your GP decides that medication will help your condition, they will give you a prescription, if not plenty of fluids and healthy eating habit is always recommended.  A prescription will inform you how much you need to take of the medicine that was prescribed to you.  And then you visit your chemist.

The cost depends on what it is, what was prescribed to you, if it was generic brand that is generally cheaper or if you prefer to have the name brand medication in which it can be more expensive.  There is no real difference between the too just the name that is on the bottle.   Generic medicine was done for people who could not always afford the name brand could have a second option.   The active ingredients in both are the same.  

When you take your medication home is important to read the instructions and directions that are on the side labels and follow it step by step.  This information will include dosage, how much medication should you take, how often and other useful information, if you can mix the medication while you are taking some other medication etc.  


Bringing medication from home into Australia

If for any reason you need to bring medication from home into Australia make sure you bring your prescriptions with a letter from your doctor at home.  This could be because you have allergies and you need your to take your pills everyday or high blood pressure pills etc.  The more evidence you have that this medication you need it and it has been approve in your country, the simple it will be to get your prescriptions in Australia.  Doctors are not one to say no to prescriptions or to refills, but when entering a new continent in an unfamiliar place is just better to play it safe.  Since people bring prohibited items in and out of the country everyday, everywhere, you just want to have proof that this medicine you do need.

Same goes, that if you know you’ll buy more of the same medication now that you will be in Australia you should bring English translation of your prescription with that you can provide it to your GP and they will refill it at your pharmacy in Australia.


Dentist

Another common doctor that you will most likely see while in Australia is a Dentist.  You find them in your area listed in the Yellow Pages as well.  Dentist will generally charge a fee for their service, which can be quite expensive.  Your OSHC may cover part of these costs, make sure you read in details what is the policy on dentist and what procedures may be covered or not.   Generally you do not need a referral from your GP to visit a dentist.  It is recommended that you visit a dentist every 6 months to a year.