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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Rapid trend shift in radiology technology and accessibility
Dr Mansoor Parker obtained his medical degree from the University of Tasmania. He then completed his specialist radiology training at Nepean Hospital, Sydney with subspecialty interests in Interventional Radiology and Pain Management, Musculoskeletal, Cardiac and Abdominal Imaging. Dr Parker is a qualified specialist since 2005 and is a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists and the exclusive Australasian Musculoskeletal Imaging Group (AMSIG) as well as the Interventional Radiology Society of Australasia (IRSA).
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Trends report identifies prototyping targets for breakthroughs in digital and hybrid futures
Vishaal Kishore, a Professor of Innovation and Public Policy at RMIT in Melbourne, serves as the Executive Chair of the RMIT-Cisco Health Transformation Lab and RMIT’s Director of Impact. Led by the RMIT-Cisco Health Transformation Lab, the National Industry Innovation Network (NIIN) Health Alliance combines the best minds, technologists, industry capabilities and academic resources to solve pressing industry and social challenges through technology-driven innovation. The NIIN aims to pool insights and expertise to address national health challenges, marking its first vertical focus on health.
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Awareness, diagnosis and treatment of Congenital Hypothyroidism
Australian Health Journal spoke to Associate Professor MIchelle Jack about congenital hypothyroidism and newborn screening and her concerns in the varying thresholds for across different states in Australia. Despite the existence of newborn screening programs since the 1970s, there is still controversy surrounding the appropriate screening levels. Congenital hypothyroidism, affecting about one in 3500 infants, can lead to severe intellectual and physical impairment if not diagnosed early. The condition is mainly caused by the thyroid gland’s failure to develop properly, resulting in insufficient thyroid hormone production.
