Author: Team

Let The Games Begin!

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]So, is 2019 the year that Bill Shorten brings the bacon home for Federal Labor?

If the polls are to be believed, then Labor is the front runner to win the election which will most probably be held on 18 May 2019.

With the Federal Budget due to be handed down on 2 April this will see the Federal election called on either the weekend of 6/7 April or the 13/14 April.

Here are some key facts to keep in mind heading into the election:

  • There are 151 seats up for grabs in the election
  • With electoral redistributions and defections to the crossbench, the Government currently hold 72 seats, the ALP 71 and the crossbench has 8
  • Labor need to win a net 5 seats to form Government, on a uniform swing of 1% or 50.6% of the two-party preferred vote
  • The Morrison Government need a swing to them of around 1% or 51.5% of the two-party preferred vote and a net 4 seats to regain majority Government
  • Current polling has Labor leading 53% to 47%

The key issue for the Government is the strength of its primary vote.  It is currently around 36% which is 6 points below where it was in 2016.  Labors primary vote is up 4 points to around 37-38%.

For the Government, they cannot win without a primary vote of around 42-43%.  Labor can win with a vote around 39% or higher.  This is due to Labor traditionally doing better on preferences than the LNP.

The Government will be hoping to use the budget on 2 April as a platform to springboard off and leverage its natural political advantage, that being superior economic management.

With the budget coming back into surplus earlier than anticipated, this budget will be an election manifesto more than a traditional budget.  No doubt the Government will be looking to shower the electorate with some election goodies.

The Government continues to go in hard on Labor’s proposed tax changes to negative gearing, franking credits and capital gains.  This is the prism through which the Government will seek to frame Labor as economic saboteurs and not to be trusted to manage the economy.

For Labor their basic campaign theme is one of fairness with their ‘plan for a fair go’.  Expect Bill Shorten and Labor to use the word ‘fair’ as often as possible between now and the election.

Fairness will be broadly defined, but policies like reinstating weekend penalty rates will be an example of wage fairness, tax cuts for low to middle income earners is about a ‘fair economy’.

Over arching the ‘fair go’ agenda will be the message of unity and stability.  Labor will contrast an Opposition led by Bill Shorten for six years against a divided Government that has had 3 Prime Ministers in 3 years.

Added to the mix will be Labor constantly reminding the electorate that Scott Morrison voted against the Banking Royal Commission 26 times.  Labor will be keen to highlight that only they can be trusted to implement the Royal Commission recommendations in full, whereas Scott Morrison is still a friend of the banks.

As they say, let the games begin!![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_zigzag][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”1915″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3/4″][vc_column_text]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jody Fassina is the Managing Director of Insight Strategy and has been an strategic adviser to MedTech and pharmaceutical stakeholders.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Health Minister Challenged

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]You may have heard that former Liberal-turned independent MP Julia Banks confirmed, this week, her intention to challenge Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt for his Mornington Peninsula electorate of Flinders.

  • Here’s what you mightn’t have heard: Former ABC journalist Tracee Hutchinson has flagged her interest in also challenging Minister Hunt for his seat, as the Labor Party’s candidate. The Age has reported that the ALP is sharpening its focus on “snatching a slew of formerly safe Liberal seats from the Morrison Government” at the next election – including Minister Hunt’s seat.

Minister Hunt’s electoral margin has changed from a high of 11 per cent to its current margin of 7 per cent (on a two-party preferred basis) leading into the 2019 election. While still considered a “safe” seat, left-wing activist group GetUp has been mobilising its supporters in a coordinated effort to unseat Minister Hunt and cause a headache for the current government.

  • Son of a Turnbull! It was also revealed in The Australian newspaper that the son of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull will be involved in helping Ms Banks with her campaign to unseat Minister Hunt. “I’m involved, I’ll leave it at that,” Alex Turnbull told Nine newspapers.

The challenge to Minister Hunt may see the Morrison Government direct valuable resources and funding to protect the seat, that would have otherwise gone to sandbagging more marginal seats in Victoria and Queensland.

KEY INSIGHTS: The Age reported that the Labor Party had held the seat for just three of the past 80 years (2 years in the 1950’s and 1 year in 1983).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

FUNDING CRISIS IN HEALTH

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to the ABC, President of AMA, Tony Bartone, said while the Government gave almost $50 billion to public hospitals last financial year, it had not been enough to turn the tide against chronically underfunded hospitals.

  • Here’s the gist: The AMA believe the April 2nd, 2019-20 Federal Budget is the ideal opportunity for the Commonwealth Government to unveil the details of its long-term vision for the Australian health system. AMA has stressed the need for this Budget, and any election policies, from both the Government and Opposition, to contain significant, long-term funding commitments to primary health care, led by general practice.

AMA’s pre-budget submission has focused on 9 (nine) areas:

  1. General Practice and Primary Care
  2. Public Hospitals
  3. A Future-proofed Medicare
  4. Medical Care for Older Australians
  5. Private Health
  6. Diagnostic Imaging
  7. Pathology
  8. Health and Medical Research
  9. Mental Health

KEY INSIGHTS: According to the ABC, the latest figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed approx. 874,000 patients were added to the public hospital elective surgery waiting list in 2017-18, an increase of 70,000 people since 2013. Only 871,000 were removed from the list, showing hospitals are struggling to keep up with demand for surgery.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SIDESTEPS BLAME

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

  • Here’s the gist: Industry association, Private Healthcare Australia (PHA), has proposed a number of key reforms it believes will “address the rising costs of healthcare and stem the movement of members to an already overburdened public health system”.
    PHA wants to:

    • cut the number of items listed on the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS);
    • permit health insurers to fund specific out-patient services;
    • increase home-care and community-based treatments – removing people from hospitals; and
    • implement international reference pricing and price disclosures, and assessments of new health products to further cut the prices of medical devices in Australia.

As of June 2018, 54% of Australians had private health insurance. But without further reforms, PHA believes this number could plummet to 30% by 2030/35.

  • Why do this? Like any industry association group, PHA’s primary goal is to represent and defend the interests of its member health insurance companies. Ensuring a viable private health insurance sector in Australia is a core goal for PHA, but so too is ensuring their members don’t face adverse financial impacts due to public policy decisions and reform.

PHA CEO, Rachel David, said “wasteful costs in the health system are not unique to the private sector… Often this is down to health system design and regulations, which are not fit-for-purpose”.

KEY INSIGHT: An agreement, struck between the Commonwealth Government and the medical technology industry in 2017, to cut prices on the Prostheses List was a major contributor to last year’s health insurance premium increase being the lowest in 18 years.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

A CURE FOR CANCER IN A YEAR

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]A team of scientists located in Israel have announced they will be the first-ever to complete a cure for cancer within 12 months.

  • Sceptical? Here’s how: The company, Accelerated Evolution Biotechnologies (AEBI), has claimed to have developed a treatment that uses a combination of cancer-targeting peptides and a multi-target toxin to find and kill cancer cells.

“Our cancer cure will be effective from day one, will last a duration of a few weeks and will have no or minimal side-effects at a much lower cost than most other treatments on the market,” AEBI Chairman, Dan Aridor, told the Jerusalem Post.

  • So just how likely is it? According to cancer experts the research AEBI is talking about has only been conducted in a cell lab on mice. Without human trials, the validity of the ‘cure for cancer’ claim is difficult to verify. When asked about the likelihood of AEBI’s claims for a 12 month cure, Medical expert Dr Penny Adams said people shouldn’t “hold their breath”.

KEY INSIGHT: AEBI confirmed the company had only undertaken an exploratory mouse experiment but said they would begin a round of clinical trials that could take a few years – longer than the promised 12 months.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

CHF SAYS HEALTH RECORD ENSHRINES CHOICE

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

  • What’s different now? A change in the law enabling people to permanently delete their My Health Record should strengthen public trust in the system. The Australian Digital Health Agency has confirmed that as of 24 January 2019, the permanent delete function has been activated to allow users to wipe their record and its backups at any time.

CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said she believes “this change will reassure those people who were concerned that their decision to opt-out of the MHR would not prevent their record being accessed by an official at some later time”.

The Consumers Health Forum has strongly supported a secure national health records system for some time, stating their belief in the potential benefits it offers to consumers and health providers.

KEY INSIGHT: Approx. 1 million people have already chosen to opt-out of having a MHR created for them by the government. The deadline for people to opt-out of the MHR is January 31.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Queenslanders get a new (Safe)Mate

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

  • Here’s what you need to know: Queensland Minister for Ambulance Services, Steven Miles, launched the SafeMate program, which is a new digital system housing a patient’s medical and personal information that they themselves have entered online. Paramedics will be able to use their operational iPads to tap a patient’s SafeMate card or device and access their information right there on the screen.

The Queensland Government believes this new program will eliminate the time it would normally take a paramedic to ask the patient a range of questions in order to obtain their medical history and other pertinent details.

KEY INSIGHT: Medibank has partnered with SafeMate to pilot the system with customers living with chronic illness in Queensland as part of its chronic disease program, CareComplete.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS AFib AWAY?

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]“It’s a momentous achievement for a wearable device that can provide critical data for doctors and peace of mind for you” – those are Apple’s words.

  • So just how useful is it? Well, it seems Janssen Pharmaceuticals (a Johnson & Johnson member company) thinks Apple could be on to something. The company is collaborating with Apple on a research study to investigate whether a new heart health program using an app from Johnson & Johnson in combination with the Apple Watch’s irregular rhythm notifications and ECG app can accelerate the diagnosis and improve health outcomes for approx. 33 million worldwide living with atrial fibrillation (AFib).
  • What’s AFib? Atrial fibrillation is a type of abnormal rhythm of the heart that can lead to stroke and other potentially devastating complications. AFib impacts more than 400,000 Australians.

The multi-year research program will be launched later in 2019. This large-scale program will occur in the U.S. only, and will be designed as a pragmatic randomised controlled research study for individuals aged 65 years or older.

KEY INSIGHT: The study will measure the outcomes of a heart health engagement program with irregular rhythm notifications on Apple Watch; and Assessing the impact of a medication adherence program using an app from Johnson & Johnson.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

WE NEED A NATIONAL PRIMARY HEALTHCARE DATA SET

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]”The Commonwealth Government and individuals invest considerable sums of money every year in primary healthcare—typically GPs and Aboriginal Medical Services”, says AHHA Chief Executive Alison Verhoeven.

“But, to date, no comprehensive ongoing national data set exists that can give insights into why people use and access primary healthcare services, what occurs in individual consultations, and the outcomes of those services.”

The AHHA has released an Issues Brief today, Call for the establishment of a primary health care national minimum data set, by Maddy Thorpe and Sharon Sweeney (Brisbane South Primary Health Network). The work was undertaken as part of the Jeff Cheverton Memorial Scholarship hosted by the Deeble Institute for Health Policy Research at AHHA.

“What is needed is what is called a National Minimum Dataset (NMDS)—that is, a set of data items, using the same definitions, that every General Practice in every state and territory commits to collecting as a minimum.”

“We think the primary healthcare NMDS needs to include standardised data on:

  • Provider demographics—to help workforce planning
  • Patient demographics
  • Patient health status and health-related behaviours
  • Patient encounters—to understand why people are using GPs and other primary healthcare providers
  • Health outcomes—to evaluate how efficient and effective services are.

“Fortuitously a national mechanism has been recently set up to lead national primary healthcare data development—the National Primary Health Care Data Unit at the independent statutory agency, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).

“Accordingly, we call on the Australian Government to capitalise on this initiative and back the AIHW to the greatest extent possible to lead the development of a Primary Health Care National Minimum Data Set.

“In so doing the Institute will need to be crystal clear on why the data are being collected and be mindful of the practicalities associated with collection of the data, the need for workforce development and training, the need to address consumer issues, and the need to assure privacy and security of the data.

“There is also a strong need for alignment with other national data sets in health through a national data governance framework”, Ms Verhoeven said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

DIGITAL HEALTH BOOTCAMPS FIT FOR IDEAS

Posted on | by Team

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]ANDHealth, Australia’s digital health business accelerator, has been awarded $250,000 to deliver intensive Digital Health Market Success Bootcamps for up to 40 Australian digital health companies.

MTPConnect CEO Dr Dan Grant says ANDHealth’s focus is on equipping digital health innovators with the skills needed to turn ideas into commercially successful products.

“Through ANDHealth’s intensive, five-day focused curriculum, representatives from digital health companies will take a deep dive into clinical evidence, regulation, business models, intellectual property, partnering, attracting investment and exploring new international markets,” Dr Grant says.

“These are the real-world skills that underpin successful companies, allowing them to build the capital they need to continue innovating, market their products to the world and employ more Australians.

“Extending ANDHealth’s program through our Project Fund Program recognises its significant successes and lays the ground work for it to continue.”

ANDHealth has been operating for two years, helping cohort digital health companies prepare for investment and international market entry. Since October 2017, ANDHealth+ cohorts have raised over $14 million, undertaken 9 new market launches, generated $2.4 million in revenue, created 63 new jobs, commenced 10 clinical trials and studies, secured 115 new customers, and served 12,857 patients.

Earlier this month, ANDHealth+ alumni DoseMe, which developed a real-time precision dosing software system, was acquired by US-based Tabula Rasa HealthCare for up to US$30 million. Founder Robert McLeay is staying with the company as Chief Scientific Officer and will remain based in Brisbane.

ANDHealth Managing Director Bronwyn Le Grice says the funding will boost the business acumen of digital health companies.

“ANDHealth is the only organisation in Australia focused specifically on supporting digital health companies prepare for investment and international market entry. With this renewed support from MTPConnect, we will be able to expand our impact across a greater number of companies, from earlier in their evolution,” she says.

“The funding will allow us to leverage our existing skills and programs and the capabilities of our members, partners and global networks to continue building a vibrant, evidence-based digital health industry in Australia.”

ANDHealth’s Digital Health White Paper produced with support from MTPConnect, shows how Australia can create a fully-fledged digital health industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]