In November last year, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport delivered its bipartisan report “The New Frontier: Delivering better health for all Australians” on the approval processes for new drugs and novel medical technologies in Australia.
Australian Health Journal spoke to some of the industry bodies who were part of the Inquiry, for their comments on the process, the report and hopes in the recommendations being implemented.
Professor John Zalcberg OAM Australian Clinical Trials Alliance (ACTA) Board Director & former ACTA Board Chair
Shanny Dyer, Chief Executive Officer, ARCS Australia
Leanne Wells, Chief Executive Officer, Consumers Health Forum of Australia
Liz de Somer, Chief Executive Officer Medicines Australia
Ian Burgess, Chief Executive Officer,
Medical Technology Association of Australia
Watch Season 5, Australian Health Journal Episode S5E1
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Lower back pain presentations in Emergency Department
Around 70 percent of people will experience lower back pain at some stage of their lives.
A recent study conducted over five years found one in three people suffering from lower back pain presented to hospital via an ambulance.In many cases people will attend an emergency department when they feel they can’t manage their pain or when treatments by community healthcare services have been ineffective or inaccessible due to location or cost. However, 90 per cent of people can get better on their own in a few weeks.
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Surgeon-scientist path laid for medical device research
In 2022, Distinguished Professor Gordon Wallace AO and Professor Mukherjee jointly established Beyond Science as a clinician led, academically supported and clinician run Australian-first medical technology translation program.
The program is aimed at early career researchers and clinician-scientists working in medical device research specifically in otolaryngology (ear, nose, and throat), head and neck surgery.
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World first in rural and remote nursing
In March 2023, the Australian Government released the National Rural and Remote Nursing Generalist Framework 2023–2027. The Framework is a world first and describes the unique context of practice and core capabilities for rural and remote Registered Nurses in Australia.
The Framework was developed by the Office of the National Rural Health Commissioner and Australian Health Journal spoke with National Rural Health Commissioner, Adjunct Professor Ruth Stewart, and Deputy National Rural Health Commissioner – Nursing and Midwifery, Adjunct Professor Shelley Nowlan, on the importance of rural and remote nursing and of the Framework itself.
