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STRYKER NAMED AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S GREATEST PLACES TO WORK ONCE AGAIN

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]For more than 30 years, Great Place to Work® has studied the world’s most notable workplace cultures, from small start-ups to some of the best-known multinationals, to uncover what makes them great and demonstrating that creating a great workplace can produce superior business performance.

Erin Cramlet, Senior Director, HR for Stryker South Pacific believes creating a great workplace isn’t rocket science, but comes down to people, culture and ensuring one positively fuels the other.

“We wouldn’t be the first company to cite people and culture as key ingredients to a great workplace, but it’s what you do with these important elements that makes all the difference,” said Cramlet.

“We purposefully look to attract people who care about others and will genuinely feel rewarded by the work we do. In doing so, we have developed a culture of driven, hardworking, passionate people who love working for a company that makes a real difference in this world.”

As their mission statement suggests, Stryker is driven to make healthcare better and the company looks for the same passion amongst employees and potential applicants. Stryker places a large emphasis on looking ‘beyond the resume’ and attracts candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to take on a successful career in medical technology.

“It is our belief that our success as a company starts with our strengths-based hiring philosophy. We choose to focus on understanding whether a potential candidate’s talents and strengths align with the role they are applying for, rather than whether or not they’ve had experience in that particular role before. This approach enables our employees to do what they do best, while also providing them with the opportunity to learn and grow their career, alongside a growing company,” continued Cramlet.

“This is an exciting, transformative and competitive time for companies,” said Zrinka Lovrencic, Managing Director of Great Place to Work Australia. “With a services sector heavy economy, employers now need to make a greater effort to improve their workplace cultures in order to retain employees. This competitive pressure benefits everyone, as all workplaces can increase their levels of employee engagement. The companies that have made the 2018 study have risen to this challenge and exemplify workplace culture excellence.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE CAN HELP PREVENT STROKES AND HEART ATTACKS

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Millions of people around the world die from heart attacks and strokes every year.

Predicting the formation of a blood clot is challenging because of the dynamic environment in which a clot forms. Blood platelets, which are a tenth of the size of a regular cell, are the major drivers of blood clot formation and they clump together within seconds when triggered.

ANU biomedical engineer Dr Steve Lee, from the ANU Research School of Engineering, and biochemist Associate Professor Elizabeth Gardiner, from the John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR), are the research team leaders.

“Using the new diagnostic device that our team has developed, we can create and quantify clot formation in 3D view from a blood sample without any form of labelling such as fluorescence or radiotracer – this had been impossible to achieve until now,” Dr Lee said.

Associate Professor Gardiner said that doctors treated people at risk of heart attack or stroke with blood-thinning medication, but there was no way to know a patient’s susceptibility with precision – until now.

“We can apply this technology to blood from patients at risk of clotting or uncontrollable bleeding – this is a potential gamechanger,” she said.

Sherry He, a CSC-PhD scholar in Dr Lee’s group at the ANU Research School of Engineering, and Dr Samantha Montague, a postdoctoral fellow from the Gardiner group at JCSMR, supported the development of the new diagnostic device.

“Our device creates a digital hologram of a microscopic blood clot at a fraction of a second by measuring the delay time for light to travel through the clot,” Ms He said.

The team tailored a microfabricated device that can mimic a damaged blood vessel and created blood clots from human samples to reveal these blood-clotting events in the laboratory.

Ms He said the device can be fitted onto a regular microscope, but was not yet suitable to be used at the bedside.

“We need to shrink our diagnostic device, which takes up a fair amount of space in a research lab at the moment, to something that can fit into a shoebox so that it can be used in a clinical setting,” she said.
Dr Montague said the device would be further developed in tandem with existing clinical and platelet research practices.

“We have set up this new diagnostic device at JCSMR right alongside routine flow cytometry equipment that are the gold-standard for cell and blood platelet analysis,” she said.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

CHANGE IN CANBERRA

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]None more so than in health with the resignation of Greg Hunt as Minister and the outstanding issue of reform to PHI via the Private Health Legislation Amendment Bill.

This Bill will set in place the framework to allow for PHI policies to be categorised as gold, silver, bronze or basic.

The Bill may have a significant impact on the medical device industry as it is may reduce patient reimbursement for medical devices or require consumers to upgrade to more expensive policies, depending upon what policy they hold under the new categorisation.  It has and remains a major issue for the medical device industry.

As of this week it had not been passed by the Senate and now the live issue is that it may not pass into law with the prospect of an early election a very, very real possibility.

If an election is called within the next two weeks, then the Bill will die.  It will either have to be revived by a re-elected Liberal Government under a new Health Minister or a new Labor Government with Catherine King as Health Minister will have to pick up the whole issue of PHI reform from scratch.

As Labor has stated their policy in regard to PHI is to cap PHI increases at 2% for two years while the Productivity Commission conducts a root and branch review of the PHI industry.

Election Timing

Up until this week, the smart money was on a May 2019 election, but the chances of a September or October election are now real.

An early election is problematic for Scott Morrison both in terms of logistics and timing.

In terms of timing, there has to be the passage of a minimum of 33 days from the calling of the Federal election and election day itself.

If an election was called this Monday for instance, then the earliest the election could be held is 29th September and that is AFL Grand Final day.

So Federally, the only realistic dates for an early Federal election are 6 Oct, 13 Oct, 20 Oct and maybe 27 October.

In order to avoid an overlap with the Victorian election which will be held on 24th November the latest an election could be called for say 27th October would be on or around 24th September.

So, there is a three-week window from now until approximately the 24th September for Scott Morrison to call an early Federal election.

The new Prime Minister faces a horror scenario for an October election.  It would see him campaigning during the footy finals season, which will no doubt just annoy a lot of people.

It would also see Victorians going to a Federal and State poll within a couple of months of each other, hardly likely to make the new PM popular.

Remember too, back in 2016 Malcolm Turnbull personally contributed $1.5m to the Liberal Party to help fund the Liberals campaign – well that won’t be happening again.

All in all, the new PM faces the worst of all worlds in regard to an October election.  But he may have no choice but to go to the polls, so the people can sort out the mess that the Government has created.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_zigzag][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”1915″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column 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][/vc_row]

PULSELINE FACT CHECKS THE ABC CLAIMS

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]It’s incorrect to say the regulatory environment in Australia has not changed. In 2014 an extensive review of Medicines and Medical Devices Regulation was undertaken by a panel of three eminent experts that included Emeritus Professor Lloyd Sansom AO.

That Panel made 58 recommendations, with the Government supporting 56 of them. Since then a series of legislative reforms has been put in place to regulate medical devices.

The TGA is regarded as one of the most thorough of any agency around the world and has undertaken extensive reforms of medical devices. Its rigorous premarket requirements for medical devices are aligned to international best practice.

ABC has now carried several biased and misleading articles questioning the value of the medical technology industry to the Australian healthcare system.

Global advances in medical technology over the past 20 years have resulted in a 56% reduction in hospital stays, 25% decline in disability rates, 16% decline in annual mortality and increased life expectancy of approximately 3.2 years.

The story failed to recognise doctors and other healthcare professionals are the primary users of medical technology and the industry provides physicians the tools they need to improve patient care. To ensure better outcomes for patients, surgeons need training and familiarity with medical devices.

The rapid innovation which is the hallmark of the medical technology industry – and which serves to benefit patients – would not be possible without the close collaboration between physicians and companies.

Indeed, some of the most significant medical technology breakthroughs in the last 50 years have originated with physicians who saw an unmet patient need or way to improve an existing procedure and brought their idea to a manufacturer to refine and produce for a wide patient audience.

Unlike pharmaceuticals, medical devices are implanted by surgeons and need to last for years, the more familiar a doctor is with a device, the better the outcome for the patient. That’s why medical technology companies provide extensive education and training (or retraining) of surgeons.

It’s also why technicians often support surgeons in the procession of instruments used ensuring they are all in place, and with their order of use. Technicians are highly trained specialists with intimate knowledge of the medical device being implanted and the tools used during that surgery.

PulseLine will continue to take a close look at the reporting of other media outlets and will call out errors, misrepresentation and bias. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

KING TAKES RECORD TO SENATE

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Last week the Government announced it will amend the 2012 legislation, introduced by the then Labor Government, to ensure that if users wish to cancel their record they will be able to do so permanently, with their record deleted from the system forever.

These amendments come following concerns raised by several stakeholders since the announcement of the opt-out period, including the Australian Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners who both requested the Government extend the opt-out period to give Australians more time to consider their options.

Uncertainty around the security and privacy of Australians’ having their health data being stored on a central government system had dogged the Government, as more than 20,000 Australians opted-out of the system in the first day.

The Government has attempted to reassure the public their data would be secure using the My Health Record, citing the success of the 6 year pilot program, which the Government says remained secure. The Health Minister also confirmed that the amendments to the legislation will ensure no records can be released to police or Government agencies, for any purpose, without a court order.

The Government has said its amendments will help strengthen the legislation to match the existing Australian Digital Health Agency policy. However, the Opposition remains unconvinced.

Shadow Health Minister, Catherine King MP, says the Opposition remains deeply concerned about the way the Government has handled the My Health Record opt-out period, claiming it has severely undermined the public trust in the reform.

Ms King believes that while the Government has agreed to a number of changes demanded by the Opposition and doctors’ groups, including an extension of the opt-out period and a new public information campaign, more needs to be done.

The Opposition will seek crossbench support to refer the rollout to the Senate Finance and Public Administration References Committee, which could also inquire into the census failure and the sale of Medicare numbers on the darkweb.

Ms King said the inquiry will examine the Government’s decision to shift from an opt-in system to an out-out system and whether it adequately prepared for this fundamental change from Labor’s system.

“[The inquiry] will examine a range of privacy and security concerns, including the adequacy of the system’s log-in procedures and default settings. It will also consider issues raised in the public domain around domestic violence and workers’ compensation,” Ms King said.

“Labor remains of the view the Government should suspend the My Health Record rollout until this mess can be cleaned up.”

It is expected that the committee will be asked to report back on its findings before the end of the opt-out period in mid-November.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

$80,000 CALL FOR AUSTRALIA’S PATHBREAKING HEALTHCARE INNOVATORS

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Now in its fifth year, MedTech’s Got Talent, an initiative of the Actuator, is on the search to identify and refine high-potential MedTech concepts from aspiring next-generation early stage entrepreneurs and innovators associated with Australia’s world-class universities, hospitals and research institutes.

Successful applicants will receive support to develop an investable start-up pitch, developing a go-to-market strategy, and initiating commercial activities. Participants will vie for over $80,000 in cash prizes plus critical support, such as mentoring from Australia’s leading commercialisation and technology experts.

Founder and CEO of the Actuator, Dr Buzz Palmer, is keen to emphasise the importance of the MedTech’s Got Talent competition in stimulating an entrepreneurial culture within the Australian MedTech community.

“The reason why we have been running the MedTech’s Got Talent competition for the past five years is to support start-ups, researchers, healthcare professionals or anyone who has an interest in MedTech to share their ideas, take risks and embrace failure. It is only through this entrepreneurial mindset that our innovation ecosystem grows, and great MedTech ideas become a reality,” Dr Palmer said.

Victoria’s Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy, Philip Dalidakis, believes its important to highlight the role of the Actuator in enabling the commercialisation of new MedTech ventures.

“We’re one of the world’s largest life science clusters and possess world leader research and advanced manufacturing capabilities. Victoria’s potential to create innovative healthcare solutions is among the world’s best and the Victorian Government is proud to support local start-ups and help them achieve their full potential through the MedTech Actuator,” Mr Dalidakis said.

Applications for the 2018 National round close on the 27th of September. For full program details, eligibility and to apply, visit www.medtechchallenge.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

DESPITE NIB POSTING $184 MILLION PROFIT ANOTHER 57000 AUSTRALIANS DROP PHI COVER

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The quarterly Private Health Insurance figures show another 57,512 insured persons dropped out, with the largest decrease in coverage during the quarter coming from people aged 20 and 24, the very group that needs to remain in the system to reduce the risk rating.

Despite this private health insurers collected $23.9 billion in premiums, paid $20.5 billion in benefits and reported net profits after tax of $1.37 billion, 15 per cent higher than two years ago.

NIB chief executive Mark Fitzgibbon said that the “benign” claims environment had resulted in NIB upgrading its full-year profit forecast by 14 per cent. Although private health insurers provided firm commitments that cuts to the Prostheses List benefits would be fully passed on to consumers, NIB’s profit upgrade shows the end result will be a surge in NIB’s profits.

Public frustration with insurers increasing annual premiums by more than double the rate of wage growth comes as a Parliamentary Senate inquiry recommended passing legislation that includes key components of the Minister for Health, Greg Hunt MP’s, wide ranging package of reforms to make private health insurance simpler and more affordable for Australians.

Stakeholders are increasingly voicing concerns around certain components of the reform package. The ambitious timeline for introducing Basic, Bronze, Silver and Gold policies from 1 April 2019 is increasingly problematic.

Spinal surgeon, Dr Matthew Scott-Young, says his field will be one of the hardest-hit by the reforms. Some surgical interventions that consumers commonly rely on such as spinal fusion, would require the highest and presumably most expensive level of cover despite many of these procedures being available today to people holding lower levels of cover.

“People like the reliability and certainty with their insurance and these changes, while in good faith, don’t deliver that,” Dr Scott-Young said.

“The analogy would be that a lady who was pregnant came into hospital to deliver their child through natural birth, but unfortunately there was a complication such that a caesarean section had to be done and they found out they weren’t covered.”

One supporter of the government’s private health insurance reforms has been the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA), but they too have raised concerns around the product categorisation issue of gold, silver, bronze and basic policies. The MTAA CEO, Ian Burgess, believes the proposed categorisations would negatively impact on consumers, leaving them worse off compared to the current system.

“We have expressed to the Health Minister our concerns that insurers will choose to no longer offer these services, like spinal fusion, on the lower categories. This could lead to a further retraction in the number of people with private health insurance or a reduction in the number of people covered by effective health insurance that properly covers them for their needs. In either case there is a risk that further burden would be placed upon public health services for elective surgery and increased waiting lists for common procedures such as joint replacements,” Mr Burgess, said.

“We are discussing with Minister Hunt the need to protect consumers to ensure they are not required to pay higher premiums just to maintain existing levels of insurance coverage as a result of the product categorisations.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

MY HEALTH RECORD OPT-OUT PERIOD EXTENDED

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]This was a key request from the Australian Medical Association and the Royal College of General Practitioners and gives Australians more time to consider their options as we strengthen the 2012 My Health Record legislation.

The Government will amend the 2012 legislation to ensure if someone wishes to cancel their record they will be able to do so permanently, with their record deleted from the system forever.

This means any Australian will be able to opt-out of the system permanently, at any time in the future, with their record deleted for good.

The government has said it will also strengthen the legislation to match the existing Australian Digital Health Agency policy.

This policy requires a court order to release any My Health Record information without consent.

The amendment will ensure no record can be released to police or government agencies, for any purpose, without a court order.

The Australian Digital Health Agency’s policy is clear and categorical – no documents have been released in more than six years and no documents will be released without a court order. This will be enshrined in legislation.

As the Australian Digital Health Agency has already stated, contrary to incorrect claims made by unions this week, under the Healthcare Identifiers Act 2010, specifically subsection 14(2), healthcare providers cannot be authorised to collect, use or disclose a healthcare identifier, and as a consequence access a patient’s My Health Record, for employment and insurance purposes.

Under the Act it is expressly prohibited and using or disclosing a healthcare identifier without authority is an offence and subject to severe penalties, including two years in jail and a fine of $126,000.

Last week in Alice Springs all health ministers unanimously reaffirmed their support for My Health Record, the national opt-out approach and our steps to strengthen the legislation.

Minister for Health Greg Hunt said he welcomed the bi-partisan support from both Labor and Liberal state governments for this important health reform.

As health ministers noted at the meeting, the expert clinical advice is that My Health Record will deliver better health care for patients.

The Government will also work with medical leaders on additional communications to the public about the benefits and purpose of the My Health Record, so they can make an informed choice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

DIGITAL HEALTH A $200 BILLION INDUSTRY BY 2020

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Software and technologies that assist in diagnosis, treatment options, storing and sharing health records, and managing workflow can enable more efficient clinical practice. The proliferation of digital health tools, including mobile health apps and wearable sensors, holds great promise for improving human health.

By some accounts there are now over 318,000 health apps available on the top app stores worldwide, nearly double the number of apps available in 2015 – with more than 200 apps being added each day.

In today’s environment, apps can be created by anyone with a good idea and some programming skills.

When barriers to entry are low, how do you differentiate yourself? But more importantly how does the industry and regulators ensure the quality of the technology can be directly linked to clinical evidence sufficient to demonstrate an appropriate level of safety and performance when used for the intended purpose.

That’s why this week the TGA recognised that to continue providing a clear regulatory environment for medical devices in Australia, it is essential that it engage with the medical devices ecosystem during the development of new regulatory recommendations and guidelines. The TGA has commenced consultation, through CSIRO Futures, in the areas of Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), and Cyber Security for Medical Devices (CSfMD).

As with all other medical devices, the regulation of medical device software and mobile medical apps that are medical devices is risk-based. This means that the level of scrutiny and oversight by the TGA applied to a product will vary according to the level of risk that the product represents to the patient or healthcare professional using it. The potential risks arising from medical devices can be minor, or very significant indeed, depending on the nature of the device and its intended purpose.

PulseLine will be taking a keen interest in this project as it evolves. If you want to get involved contact the team using the link below, before close of business on the 20th of August 2018.

CSIRO project team member Dr Jill Freyne.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM – WILL IT DELIVER?

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The PHMAC was tasked with developing easy-to-understand categories of health insurance, standard definitions for medical procedures across all insurers for greater transparency and simplified billing, as well as ensuring private health insurance meets the specific needs of consumers living in rural and remote Australia.

While the PHMAC’s measures are expected to be in place by next year’s premium increase, scheduled for 1 April 2019, the questions on everybody’s mind is: will this reform help to deliver lower premium increases or will it only serve to heighten people’s frustration with private health insurance companies?

Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has urged the federal government to scrap its plan to allow health insurance companies to offer discounts to people aged 18 to 29, arguing the move will lead to health funds luring young adults into buying low-value ‘junk policies’.

“While the cost of private health insurance is one of the top concerns that needs to be addressed, cost cannot be looked at in isolation. Discounted private health insurance cover isn’t worth it if you don’t need the cover in the first place,” says CHOICE Campaigns and Policy Team Lead, Katinka Day.

“A cheap policy that adds little or no tangible value is a poor outcome not only for the individual, but also for taxpayers who are subsidising a private system.”

This was reinforced by former chief of the health insurers lobby group and board member of a not for profit health fund Russell Schneider in his submission to the Senate inquiry. He claims that unless 100,000 extra young people buy health insurance, premiums will rise for everyone else to cover the discounts.

The Consumer Health Forum remains concerned the discounts on health insurance premiums for young people under 30 will erode the community-rating principles and further entrench a two-tiered system.

“Such changes to health insurance rules seem designed largely in the health funds’ interests to shore up declining member numbers but go nowhere far enough to respond to the frustration and concerns many consumers have about their health cover,” the CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, Leanne Wells, said.

“The latest statistics showing a significant year-on-year overall fall in health insurance members, particularly the 5.3 per cent drop among those in their 20s, highlights the need for a searching examination of Government assistance and regulation of health insurance.”

The Medical Technology Association of Australia supports the Government’s private health insurance reforms and its intent to address the issues of value, affordability, simplification and transparency of health insurance for Australian consumers.

But its submission focused on concerns around the product categorisation issue of gold, silver, bronze and basic policies. It believes the proposed categorisations would negatively impact on consumers, leaving them worse off compared to the current system.

“The exposure draft released by the Department of Health proposes restricting coverage for some surgical interventions that consumers commonly rely on such as spinal fusion, joint replacements, insulin pumps (for which there is no public hospital alternative), pain therapies such as spinal cord stimulation, hearing implants and intraocular lenses. Under the Department’s proposed model, all of these procedures would require the highest and presumably most expensive level of cover despite many of these procedures being available today to people holding lower levels of cover,” the CEO of the Medical Technology Association of Australia, Ian Burgess, said.

“We have expressed to the Health Minister our concerns that insurers will choose to no longer offer these services on the lower categories. This could lead to a further retraction in the numbers of people with PHI in total, or a reduction in the number of people covered by effective health insurance which covers them for their needs. In either case there is a risk that further burden would be placed upon public health services for elective surgery and increased waiting lists for common procedures such as joint replacements.”

“We are discussing with Minister Hunt the need to protect consumers to ensure they are not required to pay higher premiums just to maintain existing levels of insurance coverage as a result of the product categorisations.”

With these reforms due to come into play from 1 April 2019, at the same time as premium increases and the likelihood of a Federal Election in May 2019 you can be certain health will be a major factor in the campaign.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]