Author: Team

SUMMER ROUND-UP

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]With this in mind, here is our ‘summer round-up’ to ensure that you are on top of the notable events in global politics.

Starting here at home, Australia has been chiefly focussed on the large number of bushfires ravaging the country, with a number of lives lost and millions of hectares of land burnt out. The situation has become so dire that 3,000 army reservists have been drafted in to fight fires across the country. In addition, the Government has already started looking forward to the recovery process with its commitment to establish a $2 billion National Bushfire Recovery Agency to assist with the rebuilding of communities affected by the fires. Former Australian Federal Police Chief, Mr Andrew Colvin has been appointed as the head of the new National Bushfire Recovery Agency for an initial two-year term.

In addition, there has been a worldwide response to the bushfires, with celebrities, including those from outside of Australia, donating to the recovery efforts. So far, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban and Pink have all donated to the recovery efforts. In addition, a variety of sports stars are donating to the recovery efforts, with Australian tennis stars, Nick Kyrgios and Ash Barty, spearheading the efforts by donating every time they serve an ace.

The most notable fundraiser so far has been Australian comedian Celeste Barber, who has over $41 million through her Instagram post on Friday 3 January 2020. She launched her fundraising effort with footage of her NSW South Coast-based mother-in-law, Joy Robin, who was caught up in the fires. If you would like to donate to the bushfire recovery efforts, News.com.au has published an excellent article outlining all the charities that are working to help the volunteer firefighters, victims of the fire and those looking to help the wildlife. You can read this article here.

Tensions are currently rising between the United States and Iran, with the United States killing Iranian General, Qasem Soleimani, in a drone strike. US President, the Right Honourable Donald Trump has defended the US’s action, stating that the General was ‘plotting imminent and sinister attacks’. The Iranian Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has indicated that there will be repercussions following the US’s attack, stating that ‘severe revenge awaits the criminals’. World leaders, including Australian Prime Minister, the Hon Scott Morrison MP have called for calm between the US and Iran. At this time, it is unclear as to what this will mean for Australian soldiers currently stationed in Iraq, who are reportedly close allies of Iran, with troops likely to either be withdrawn or see our commitment in the Middle East further increase.

The tensions in Hong Kong failed to quell over the Christmas break, with protesters clashing with police during protests on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Following the clashes, China has replaced its Hong Kong envoy, with Luo Huining being appointed as the head of China’s liaison office in Hong Kong. Despite this, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, continues to have support from mainland China. This means that it is likely that the protests will be continuing well into the New Year.[/vc_column_text][vc_zigzag][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]

THESE INSIGHTS WERE PROVIDED BY THE TEAM AT NEXUS PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

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$5 Million for Bushfire Related Health Research

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The medium-term health effects of the recent bushfires will be studied under two major research streams commissioned by the Government.

The Government will provide $5 million in total from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) under an open and competitive grant round.

  • $3 million for research into the physiological impacts of prolonged bushfire smoke exposure.
  • $2 million for research into the mental health impacts of bushfires on affected communities.

This research will collect information on the biological, psychological and behavioural impacts of prolonged exposure to bushfire smoke.

The data and evidence gathered will help to understand the lived experiences and coping strategies of people and communities heavily affected by bushfires.

Measures undertaken to reduce exposure to smoke and the effectiveness of the exposure reduction methods will also be studied.

Outcomes of this research will support the development of individual and community resilience strategies into bush fire preparedness planning.

It will also inform policies for preparing and responding to future bushfire events.

The mental health research funding will support long term tracking of individuals, communities, and in particular emergency service personal who have been in the fire effected areas.

This announcement follows the Government’s comprehensive $76 million mental health support package for those impacted by the current bushfire disaster.

The grant round will open Friday, 17 January 2020 and closes Friday, 31 January 2020.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

2 MILLION AUSSIES DUMP PRIVATE HEALTH COVER AS PRICES SOAR

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Medical Technology Association of Australia CEO Ian Burgess – who commissioned the research – said premium costs, value for money and out-of-pockets were by far the main reasons behind the mass exodus.

Mr Burgess said there was also bad news for the 11 million Australians still covered by private health insurance, with the cost of their policies set to increase between $50 and $300+ in 2020.

He said it was further proof the ‘Big 4’ health funds – Medibank, Bupa, HCF and NIB – were not passing on savings from recent medical device price cuts, which fell on average 14 per cent in recent years, saving insurers $390 million.

“Over the past decade the ‘Big 4’ health insurers increased their premiums at a faster rate than national house prices, while banking billions in profits,” Mr Burgess said.

“This is despite the fact private health funds have not paid one extra cent for medical devices in recent years.

“Each of these two million Australians dumping their private health cover is an extra person joining our already overcrowded public hospital system.”

Mr Burgess said the Federal Government’s ongoing work trying to improve ‘value for money’, ‘affordability’ and ‘shopping around’ risked “coming to nothing” if younger generations and families continued to drop out of private health insurance because of ongoing price increases.

“The only answer left is for prices to go below zero next premium round. That means an actual premium decrease

– not a ‘lower’ increase.

“It’s time for the government to step in and save private health from itself.”

Research undertaken by YouGov Galaxy for MTAA found an estimated 2.23 million Australians no longer held private health cover, despite previously being covered in the past five years.

Respondents nominated ‘cost of premiums’ (64%); ‘lack of value for money’ (50%); and ‘out of pockets’ (31%) as the leading reasons, compared with ‘prefer the public system’ (21%); ‘do not believe in private health insurance’ (11%); and no longer required or eligible due to ‘change in personal circumstances’ (11%) or ‘government rules’ (5%).

Mr Burgess said the findings gave a rare insight into the real “churn and burn” of private health insurance coverage and called for greater transparency in the figures released to the public.

Currently insurers and government only publicly release the ‘net’ change in coverage – the difference between the number of people signing up and dropping out – while keeping the total number of Australians cancelling health cover secret.

A recent Alpha Beta report identified $1 billion worth of efficiencies that could reduce private health prices by up to 20 per cent within 3 years if government adopted them now.

 

2020 PHI Premium

Increase (Avg)

 $1500 $3000 $5000 $7500 $10000 Past Decade

(2010-2019)
Industry Avg 2.92% $1,544 $3,088 $5,146 $7,719 $10,292 71%
Medibank 3.27% $1,549 $3,098 $5,164 $7,745 $10,327 72%
Bupa 3.26% $1,549 $3,098 $5,163 $7,745 $10,326 68%
HCF 3.39% $1,551 $3,102 $5,170 $7,754 $10,339 73%
NIB 2.90% $1,544 $3,087 $5,145 $7,718 $10,290 78%

*Source MTAA Analysis of Department of Health Data

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Galaxy Plc. Total sample size was 1042 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 28 Nov 19 – 1 Dec 19. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Australian adults (aged 18+). It found 1 in 4 (25%) of respondents previously held private health insurance, but no longer did – half of which (47%; 1 in 8 overall) reported dropping their health cover in the past 5 years. This equates to 2.23 million Australians.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

POOR QUALITY REPAIRS OF AND MODIFICATIONS TO MEDICAL EQUIPMENT PUTTING PATIENTS AT RISK

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Playing cards are fine for playing poker, not for gambling with a patient’s safety. The picture in Figure 1 shows a “repaired” endoscope by a hospital contractor hired to repair medical equipment. The playing card was used to separate the angulation wires from the image and light guide bundles to protect them from the open solder joints. No heat shrink was used to provide environment sealing protection. This is a serious material incompatibility issue. The paper of the playing card is flammable and its use on open solder joints can lead to fire and serious patient injury.

Although medical devices are regulated by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), the TGA does not have jurisdiction over hospitals. A lack of regulatory oversight has resulted in a proliferation of businesses selling repairs of medical equipment and maintenance-related services to hospitals. Most if not all of these businesses have no links to the original manufacturer. Therefore, it is anyone’s guess how hospitals ensure that medical equipment under their care remains safe and works as per the manufacturer’s original specifications, and who checks whether these contractors and consultants have the minimum level of competence and training to perform repairs and maintenance on medical equipment.

If a patient is injured by a poorly repaired medical equipment or by a medical device rendered unsafe by modifications, the hospital has no obligation to report the adverse event to the TGA. The poor level of incident reporting by hospitals is reflected in the TGA statistics (shown in Figure 2). According to the current law, only manufacturers and sponsors of medical devices have an obligation to report incidents and adverse events to the TGA. It is safe to assume then that, unless a hospital informs the manufacturer or sponsor, incidents involving medical equipment repaired and maintained by the hospital or on behalf of the hospital will go unreported.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”4286″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Even if the original manufacturer is informed of adverse events involving repaired/ serviced medical equipment, the hospital has no obligation to provide TGA or anyone else with information and records related to repairs and modifications undertaken by the hospital or on behalf of the hospital.

Patient and consumer groups such as CHOICE or Consumer Health Forum (CHF) have a right and indeed an obligation to understand what is happening in relation to post-market repairs and modifications of medical devices. The Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) has issued a number of National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) standards. Unfortunately, none of the NSQHS standards cover repair and maintenance of medical equipment in hospitals. The only standardisation of repair and maintenance of medical equipment in healthcare facilities is left to Standards Australia HE-003 committee, however neither the ACQHC, nor the CHF are represented in HE-003.

Playing cards have no place in healthcare.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Private Health Premiums Must Go Below Zero Next Round

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]MTAA CEO Ian Burgess said this announcement confirmed that insurer claims that medical device prices would force them to raise premiums over 3.5 per cent – twice inflation – next year were nothing but a “sham and a scam”.

“No matter how you spin it, this is an embarrassing capitulation for Australia’s ‘Big 3’ corporate insurers,” he said. “Minister Hunt has not only stood firm and called their bluff, but also forced the ‘Big 3’ – Bupa, Medibank and NIB – to admit that they can afford to dip into their pockets and profits to lower their prices.

“The ‘Big 3’ insurers must therefore be forced to submit price cuts below zero per cent the next few premium rounds to ensure no more Australians are priced out of their health fund while the Minister undertakes further reform.

“Over the past decade we saw private health premiums increase at a faster rate than national house prices – as a country we can’t afford to allow the ‘Big 3’ corporate insurers to get away with that again.

“It’s time to save private health from itself.” Minister Hunt’s decision comes on the back of recent evidenced-based campaigning from MTAA to ensure he could deliver on his promise to bring premium increases in under 3 per cent next year, including analysis showing:

  • Private health insurers have not paid one extra cent for medical devices over the past two premium years, despite raising their prices twice-inflation and banking over $1 billion in profits between them.
  • Private health premiums had grown at a faster rate than national house prices over the past decade, leaving customers out of pocket as much as $4000 over 10 years.
  • The avg price of medical devices in Australia fell 12 per cent over the same 10-year period.
  • Three quarters of Australians wanted Minister Hunt to force health funds to keep their price increases under 3 per cent next year, and use their $1 billion in profits to fund it (YouGov poll of over 1000 Australians).
  • Two thirds of Australians did not believe a premium increase over 3 per cent next year was in the “public interest” – the key test allowing the Minister to push back on private health insurer price increase requests.
  • The MTAA’s Agreement with the Minister has already saved insurers a total of $390 million off the cost of medical devices and is on track to exceed the $1.1 billion in total expected savings.
  • A further $1 billion worth of efficiencies that could reduce private health prices by up to 20 per cent within 3 years if adopted now (AlphaBeta Report – August 2019).

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$14.7 Million for Innovative Medical Projects

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Federal Government has announced it is investing more than $14.7 million in these projects through the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), comprising $8.9 million through the BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program and more than $5.8 million through the Biomedical Translation Bridge (BTB) program.

The BMTH program is a $45 million government initiative, made possible through the Strategic Agreement between MTAA and the Federal Government, that aims to move technologies to proof-of-concept and commercial development.

As part of the second funding round of the BMTH program $8.9 million will be invested in nine projects:

  • Cyban Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing a novel brain pulse oximeter to monitor brain oxygen levels following traumatic brain injury.
  • Macuject Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing artificial intelligence-based clinical decision support software for intravitreal management of age-related macular degeneration.
  • PolyActiva Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing sustained release ocular implants for delivery of steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications to the eye for the prevention and treatment of macular oedema.
  • Enlighten Imaging Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing a novel hyperspectral retinal imaging platform for next generation artificial intelligence diagnostics.
  • Kunovus Technologies Pty Ltd, New South Wales, is developing an elastomeric motion-preserving implant to treat lumbar spine osteoarthritis as an alternative to fusion.
  • IDE Group, New South Wales, is developing a control sleeve for intravitreal injection systems.
  • IntelliDesign Pty Ltd, Queensland, is developing portable bedside low field magnetic resonance imaging.
  • WearOptimo, Queensland, is advancing cardiac microwearables for rapid, minimally-invasive personalised cardiovascular medicine.
  • Advanced Genetic Diagnostics Pty Ltd, Western Australia, is developing genetic tests to identify people at high risk of heart disease.

Industry is backing the BMTH projects by providing $10.6 million in matching contributions.

The BTB program is a $22.3 million initiative that will fund up to $1 million in matched funding to nurture the translation of new therapies, technologies and medical devices through to proof of concept.

Eight projects will share in more than $5.8 million in the first funding round of the BTB program:

  • AdAlta Limited, Victoria, has identified a therapeutic i-body protein, a class of next generation antibodies that demonstrates potent anti-fibrotic properties, and is being developed for the treatment of the lung fibrosis condition Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF).
  • DBS Technologies Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing an innovative device providing adaptive deep brain stimulation for people with Parkinson’s disease.
  • MecRx Pty Ltd, Victoria, is developing novel, small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of lung cancer.
  • University of Melbourne’s Melbourne Dental School, Victoria, is progressing a novel dental implant to commercialisation.
  • The Australian National University, Australian Capital Territory, is developing rapid and objective eye and brain testing for better management of ophthalmic and neurological diseases.
  • SpeeDx Pty Ltd, New South Wales, is seeking to commercialise its ResistancePlus® MABSC/MAC test, a rapid in vitro diagnostic tool to accurately and quickly identify bacterial infections related to cystic fibrosis, while using gene markers to predict antibiotic susceptibility or resistance.
  • Vast Bioscience, Queensland, is developing 3D small molecule sodium channel inhibitors for the treatment of postsurgical pain.
  • Noisy Guts Pty Ltd, Western Australia, has developed a non-invasive acoustic belt that uses artificial intelligence to decode gut noises to accurately diagnose and monitor common gut disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome.

Industry is providing an additional $14.6 million in support of the BTB projects.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

New research to tackle Australia’s two biggest killers

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Government’s investment will support innovative, high quality, collaborative research that focuses on prevention, early-intervention, treatment and survivorship of heart disease and stroke.

This round will focus on three priorities:

  • Preventing heart disease and stroke.
  • Improving survival rates after an acute heart or stroke event.
  • Improving survival after a cardiovascular event or stroke and preventing a recurrence.

In 2018, ischaemic heart disease killed 17,533 Australians and cerebrovascular diseases (stroke) killed 9,972 Australians.

However, cardiovascular disease is an area in which Australia can boast strong recent successes, with deaths falling by almost 70 per cent over the past three decades.

Much of this success has been achieved through improvements in the prevention, detection and management of the disease.

The Government has committed to a strong research agenda to find more effective methods for preventing, treating and managing heart conditions and, ideally, a cure.

More than $1.7 billion has been invested in clinical research into cardiovascular disease through National Health and Medical Research Council grants since 2000.

The Government is now investing $220 million from the $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) for the dedicated 10-year Cardiovascular Health Mission.

The Mission aims to improve health outcomes through prevention strategies and earlier detection for patients suffering a heart attack or stroke.

It will support Australian researchers to make game-changing discoveries, develop a global biotech industry and enable the implementation of changes in health care.

Grants open on 13 December 2019 and will be managed by the National Health and Medical Research Council. For more information on how to apply, visit GrantConnect.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Trailblazing Entrepreneurs On Track To Commercial Success And Healthcare Impact

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]At MedTech’s black-tie night of nights, entrepreneurs revealed new healthcare solutions fuelled by insights into real needs and moving first-hand experiences.

Uniting these changemakers was a clear passion for collaborating and bringing to life the profound impact that MedTech can have in the lives of individuals, communities and people around the world.

Judges had a tough job cut out for them, with each and every entrepreneur showing huge potential to shake up healthcare for the better. In the end, the following startups won a share in $50,000 and fast-tracked application to the MedTech Actuator Accelerator program:

  • Johnson & Johnson Award: Cogniant – ensuring care continuity for people with mental health conditions – Neeraj Kothari – mentored by Hayley Quinn, Medtronic.
  • Medtronic Award: Injectra – a new cannula that saves lives through simplicity – Maryam Soomro – mentored by Jamal Elsheikh, MedTech Actuator.
  • Cook Medical Award: SoundSense – helping blind and visually impaired people see with sound – Jonathan Hribar – mentored by Ingenuity.
  • LaunchVic Award: Rapid Motion – a new test for infection to improve cancer patient quality of life and outcomes – Hannah Wardill – mentored by Michelle Kleynhans, MedTech Actuator.
  • MedTech Actuator Award: Lactamo – bringing breastfeeding benefits to more mothers and children – Etta Watts-Russell – mentored by Ann Damien, Cook Medical.

The $1000 People’s Choice Award for the night was taken out by Maryam Soomro from Injectra.

This year’s Challenge was bigger and better than ever – in an exciting development, the competition scaled beyond our shores to welcome entrepreneurs from India.

Primary school students also graced the night for the first time, sharing their ideas to improve lives with MedTech innovation. The MedTech Actuator team hopes to see them in the competition in years to come and know that they’ll inspire other young changemakers to follow their lead.

“I’d like to congratulate all teams, finalists and students on their courage to put themselves out there last night in the name of innovating for healthcare impact,” says Dr Buzz Palmer, MedTech Actuator CEO.

“It’s never easy, but well worth it for the difference you can make in the lives of people around the world. We’re thrilled to support emerging talent and promising ideas, in deep collaboration with our region’s innovation ecosystem.”

To learn more about entrepreneurs from this year’s Challenge and how they’re making waves in healthcare, visit www.medtechactuator.com/news.

Applications for the MedTech Actuator Accelerator program open in January 2020 at www.medtechactuator.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Through The Roof: MTAA Analysis Finds That Private Health Prices Outstrip Housing Growth Over Decade

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]And there’s more bad news coming for consumers in 2020, with premiums set to rise another $350 next year if the ‘Big 3’ health funds refuse Health Minister Greg Hunt’s request to drop price increases below 3 per cent next year.

New analysis from the Medical Technology Association of Australia – released this week – shows private health premiums rose an average of 71 per cent nationally between 2009 and 2019 – compared to an average 49 per cent increase in average national capital city house prices.

In contrast, medical devices prices fell an average of 12 per cent over the same period – demonstrating the success of Minister Hunt’s agreement with MTAA to increase affordable access to patients.

MTAA CEO Ian Burgess said the data showed just how “out of touch” the ‘Big 3’ private health insurers were and renewed calls for the Morrison Government to reject any premium increases above 3 per cent next year.

Mr Burgess said the ‘Big 3’ corporate health funds should also be subject to different rules to smaller community health funds, given they were sitting on 90 per cent of the sector’s $1 billion in profits.

“Every day for the past decade we’ve heard about housing price hikes pressuring family budgets and locking young people out of the market altogether – and it turns out private health insurers are even worse,” Mr Burgess said.

“Private health insurance prices are through the roof, and instead of dropping prices, the ‘Big 3’ health insurers have deliberately chosen to drop customers instead and force government to keep bailing them out.

“The number one priority for the government should be intervening to stop Medibank, Bupa and NIB continuing to price their customers out of the market, because once they’re gone, current tax penalties mean it’ll be an uphill battle to get them back.

“The first step is for Minister Hunt to not only follow through on his promise to reject any premium increases over 3 per cent, but force insurers to pay for any price cuts out of their own pockets, not everyone else’s.”

Mr Burgess said the ‘Big 3’ private health insurers had not paid one extra cent for medical devices over the past two premium years, despite raising their prices twice-inflation and banking over $1 billion in profits between them.

A YouGov poll – released last week – found three quarters of Australians want Minister Hunt to force health funds to keep their price increases under 3 per cent next year, and use their $1 billion in profits to fund it.

The MTAA’s Agreement with the Government has already saved insurers a total of $390 million off the cost of medical devices and is on track to exceed the $1.1 billion in total expected savings.

A recent AlphaBeta report – released in August 2019 – also recommended a further $1 billion worth of efficiencies that could reduce private health prices by up to 20 per cent within 3 years if adopted now.

Key Findings:

  1. A family with top cover policy with no excess costing $10,000 in 2019 was paying $5859 in 2009 – an extra $4141.
  2. A family with top cover policy with excess costing $7500 in 2019 was paying $4394 in 2009 – an extra $3106.
  3. A couple with mid-cover policy costing $5000 in 2019 was paying $2930 in 2009 – an extra $2070.
  4. A single with a basic cover policy costing $1500 in 2019 was paying $879 in 2009 – an extra $621.
  5. The ‘Big 3’ corporate health funds’ prices – NIB (78%), Medibank (72%) and Bupa (68%) – all grew at a faster rate than the average ABS capital city residential house price index (49%) between 2009 and 2019.
  6. The avg price of medical devices in Australia fell from $775 in 2009 to $680 in 2019 – a decrease of $95 (-12%).
  7. Recent reports that insurers will increase premiums a further 3.5% in 2020 means a family with a top cover policy will be out of pocket another $350, along with $175 for couples and $52 for singles.

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Australia’s most authoritative healthcare data report published

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The increased uptake of manipulation during birth and a much higher restraint rate for mental health patients indicates changes in health care provision in these two key health areas.

The latest healthcare trends across 20 sets of key clinical indicators have been reported in the new Australasian Clinical Indicator Report 2011 – 2018 (20th edition), or ‘the ACIR’ published today by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS).

As Australia’s most statistically-detailed, national report on the performance of 656 healthcare organisations (HCOs) the ACIR covers an eight-year period and gives a comprehensive statistical overview of the results for each clinical indicator (CI) set. This assists health care services to understand their own level of performance within a national context.

The ACIR remains the longest-run indicator set in the world, consistently capturing data and measured trends over 26 years.

Key improvements reported include:

  • In 2018, there were 104 CIs (a 20% increase) which showed statistically significant positive trends. Of these, 63 remained significant after allowing for changes in the composition of HCOs contributing. There were eight CI sets that had an improvement in at least two-thirds of all trended CIs. They were; Anaesthesia and Perioperative Care, Day Patient, Emergency Medicine, Gynaecology, Infection Control, Intensive Care, Paediatrics and Rehabilitation

Notable deteriorations where the potential to make improvements exist included:

  • In 2018, there were 40 CIs which showed statistically significant trends in a negative direction. Of these, 18 remained significant after allowing for changes in contributing HCOs including:
    • Gastrointestinal Endoscopy – the rate of patients transferred or admitted for an overnight stay due to aspiration has deteriorated from 0.022 to 0.035 per 100 patients since
    • Maternity – the rate of selected primipara (women who give birth once) with intact perineum has decreased from 19.7 to 10.9 per 100
    • Mental Health – the rate of physical restraint has increased nearly threefold from 1.3 to 5.6, a change of 4.2 per 100 completed

ACHS President, Professor Len Notaras AM said that the value of the overall data increases each year. “We are fortunate to have this asset which builds a clear understanding of where clinical improvements as well as deteriorations are occurring.”

“It provides an immense opportunity for health care services to assess their own performance and compare how they are performing at a national level with their peers,” he said.

“There is no other comparable dataset in the world which has the statistical depth of more than a quarter of a century to it. ACHS continues to invest in the most authoritative report on performance achieved up to 2018 for the health services with nearly 29,000 data submissions.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]