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BioPharmaDispatch - discussing the issues impacting the Australian biopharmaceutical and life sciences sectors with Paul Cross and Felicity McNeill.
163 Episodes
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We open by marking Yom Kippur and a frank discussion before pivoting to the US 'MFN' drug-pricing moves, what they could mean for Australia’s PBS, and why institutional rigidity in HTA persists and is worsening. Medical research funding rhetoric versus slow progress in PBS and health technology access, hospital funding and NDIS pressures, and the expansion of pharmacist prescribing, as well as the need for subsidised pharmacy services.
On the Dispatched Podcast this week, we reflect on the erosion of public confidence in health decision-making. Former Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton’s admission that some COVID-19 measures were not strictly evidence-based highlights the need for a Royal Commission, which would have compelled accountability and helped restore trust. The discussion then turns to MSAC’s rejection of newborn screening for Pompe disease. Health Minister Mark Butler must intervene, not least because he...
An update on the Government's travel policy! The opportunity of AI, our own journeys, and why it needs to be embraced and not feared, particularly in healthcare. Productivity and the impact of chronic conditions and another example of why it would be better to target support to those most in need.
Government travel policies make us laugh and laugh. Understanding reforms from the government's perspective is critical to understand how they will evolve over time, and an update that raises more questions than it answers.
A special episode focused on the AbbVie-commissioned survey, revealing firm support for increased investment in medicines and the true extent of patients paying the cost of their prescriptions. What does it mean and what is the opportunity?
Another order on pharmaceutical pricing, but what does it mean? What does the Government's productivity roundtable have in common with the HTA Review? Screening programs that aren't, and a co-payment reduction that puts the safety net further out of reach.
A sense of entitlement that needs to be questioned, Australia is on the list of nine countries to be targeted over pharmaceutical pricing, and the hopeless hypocrisy of allowing a group of disreputable regimes to have a say on this country's response to a pandemic, while fulminating about the US on the PBS.
The opportunity for Australia is to do less deflecting on healthcare affordability and engage in an honest discussion about the genuine challenges confronting many Australians. The debate does not just deflect on affordability.
The ongoing debate regarding the US, the Trump administration's potential tariffs on pharmaceuticals and the PBS is mainly characterised by falsehoods and errors. We discuss our incredible frustration over a debate that is almost entirely disconnected from facts, including the apparent belief that Australia has a vast array of advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. We also have praise for the Prime Minister following his statements at a media conference today.
We have more health commissioners, including for genomics, and we both hope for a more meaningful discussion on weight loss therapies, the opportunities, access barriers, and their system-changing impact. Telehealth is here to stay, particularly in specific therapeutic areas, while one state has introduced political donations reform that could have a broader impact.
The health department has released its incoming ministerial brief to the reappointed Mark Butler, revealing internal government discussions over the future funding of new PBS listings, and hinting at limiting the implementation of the HTA Review recommendations to a small number of technologies. It also contradicts the claim that new PBS listings take 466 days from TGA registration, suggesting that it actually takes almost 650 days.
Adding disability to health in an already full ministerial bandwidth and funding challenges. Trade policy and the PBS, and a presentation on the human consequences of our decision-making. Can a targeted diagnostic screening and the strangest patient case study? Times 0:00 - 9.45: Adding disability to health in an already full ministerial bandwidth and funding challenges 9.45 - 17:55: Trade policy, the PBS, and managing the risks and opportunities 17:55 - 17:55: About a presentation on the hum...
A busy two weeks with an election and the addition of disability and the NDIS to the health portfolio. What does it mean? The credulous reflex response to comparisons between the US and Australian health systems. Why is denying access and out-of-pocket costs in Australia better than what happens in the US?
What is the balance between building national sovereignty in health and protecting patient safety and community confidence in new technologies? Do we need to be careful? An election brings back memories of 'future' funds past.
The health election debate mainly concerned bulk billing. New bureaucracies are rarely the solution to anything, and the challenge of faster funded access to new health technologies, particularly when advisory committees with power appear opposed. The complexity of weight-loss therapies presents opportunities.
Australia's election is two weeks in, and we're having trouble engaging. How positional power and 'expertism' can be confused and the value of a transparent and open forum.
The industry's 'Faustian bargain' on the 'sanctity' of the PBS, the challenge so many have in being clear about the problem, and why Pathology Australia provides an important lesson. Another wrong political message on newborns, why dentists might be worried, positive news on a critical medicines reform, and kudos to a pharmacy chain for promoting flu vaccines.
A review of Senate Estimates, with irritating warnings, too much passivity, and passive-aggressive responses (0.00-4.50). Revelations on how oral contraceptives navigated the funding process and the drivers of that outcome (4.51-14.10). We disagree on the role of advisory committees in policymaking (14.10-25.00). The impact of individuals in health policy, how change can have a significant effect, and we disagree again on advisory committees and policy (25.01-39.20). Officials confirmed the H...
A major structural shift in the PBS with the government moving to break a long-held article of faith (00:10-9:30). Why can't we debate HTA using some plain language and straight talking (9:30-20:20)? Research grants about patients that patients can't apply for (20:20-28:30), pathology pushing for more funding (28:30-37:00), essential questions for our public health system (37:00-47:00), and a bad memory of Valentine's Day (47:00-48:30).
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