In the lead up to the Australian Federal Budget in May 2023, Australian Health Journal reached out to peak health industry bodies to hear about their priorities, either noted in pre-budget submissions lodged with Federal Government in January 2023 or in recent forums such as the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce.
Others have stated their priorities directly with Federal Government. Through these interviews, AHJ gives a final opportunity to communicate to all health stakeholders, the funding needs for a range of priorities. These range from new models of care to pilots and wholesale, system improvements to building more sustainable workforces to help grow certain sectors of the health system
The President of the Australasian Association of Nuclear Medicine Specialists (AANMS), Associate Professor Sze Ting Lee spoke with Australian Health Journal about the following:
- Usual levels of nuclear medicine services in Australia each year
- Current levels of nuclear medicine services in Australia
- How changing demographics in people moving to regional areas has impacted access to nuclear medicine services
- The nuclear medicine workforce including trainees
- Key recommendation from the pre-budget submission
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Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Synopsis, including modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors
Talking to the Australian Health Journal, Professor Russo states there is a particular concern in joint operations, such as hip or knee replacements, as infections in these areas can have severe consequences, including the removal of the infected joint, prolonged treatment, and significant costs for both hospitals and patients. Despite the substantial impact of surgical site infections, Australia lacks a national surveillance program for these infections, making it challenging to obtain accurate data. However, an estimate suggests that around 45,000 surgical site infections occur annually in Australia, resulting in approximately 900 deaths.
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CASE STUDY: Evolution in the medical device supply chain
For Cardinal Health, a global manufacturer and distributor of medical products, the process begins when products arrive in Australia and are cleared by customs before being stored at their Sydney warehouse. From here, they fulfil orders for various clients, including hospitals and wholesalers, supported by DHL’s logistics services.
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Sovereign capability uplifted
Skilled labour, in particular skilled in the manufacture of MTP products, namely competency in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), was identified as one of the key priorities, according to Jarrod Belcher, Director of the REDI Program at MTPConnect. Through a competitive process, MTPConnect selected additional industry training providers to deliver new programs addressing key skills gaps in the sector workforce.
Launched in September 2022, one of these programs is GMP Uplift developed by the Centre for Biopharmaceutical Excellence (CBE). CBE bring experience across large and small Biologics, Pharmaceuticals and Regenerative Medicine companies, both in consulting and GMP related enterprise training. CBE staff also have extensive experience in GMP operations, compliance, auditing and QMS design, a wide industry network for guest lecturers and readily available case studies.
