In the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
Others have stated their priorities directly with Federal Government. Through these interviews, AHJ gives a final opportunity to communicate to all health stakeholders, the funding needs for a range of priorities. These range from new models of care to pilots and wholesale, system improvements to building more sustainable workforces to help grow certain sectors of the health system
The CEO of Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA), Bronwyn Morris-Donovan spoke with Australian Health Journal about the following:
- The structure and priorities for AHPA
- The setting and disciplines in Allied Health
- Allied Health representation in the Strengthening Medicare Task Force
- Importance of a data strategy and interoperability in delivery of allied health services
Lastly Bronwyn talks about the allied health priorities she hopes are included in the Federal Budget.
The first is the funding to support the delivery and implementation of the allied workforce strategy across the various settings where allied health is delivered. This includes health, disability, aged care and education settings. This should “genuinely look at issues of supply and distribution across multiple setting.”, says Bronwyn.
The second key priority is further work and investment with the Australian Digital Health Agency to build the interoperability needed for allied health to be able to upload to My Health Record. This access is an enabler to multidisciplinary team care and is a core recommendation of the Strengthening Medicare Task Force report; to enhance, build and foster multidisciplinary team care. Bronwyn states this is only possible by bringing allied health into the digital ecosystem through better digital interoperability.
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Improved treatment in advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma
A global clinical trial successfully reduced toxicity and side effects in advanced stage Hodgkin lymphoma patients by using a modified treatment regimen.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Mark Hertzberg in his role in the ALLG HD10 Clinical Trial and as a former Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Australasian Leukaemia & Lymphoma Group (ALLG), an organisation involved in improving the treatments and lives of blood cancer patients.
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Misinformation impacts routine vaccines
More significant changes in recent years have been health-related misinformation eroding trust in healthcare professionals, leading to people seeking alternative treatments or avoiding medical advice altogether. This can make it more difficult for healthcare professionals to provide effective treatment and care.
Recent vaccines delivered as part of the COVID-19 response, are having a consequential impact on the uptake of routine vaccines.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Dr Paul Griffin, an Infectious Diseases Physician and Microbiologist at Mater Health, and who has been involved in over 150 clinical trials in the field of infectious disease.
Paul talks about the importance of having reputable sources of information that can used to encourage people to understand what is involved in clinical trials and the roles of vaccines.
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MTAA MedTech19 Annual Conference
MTAA’s annual conference is the premier medical technology industry conference in Australia and brings together leaders and influencers across industry, government and academia to discuss what’s up ahead for the MedTech industry.
