The 'Dispatched' Podcast

The industry must be congratulated for firming up its criticism of the HTA Review options paper, and it should start speaking publicly about its concerns. The history and how agreements with the federal government have evolved over time. Another disappointment on newborn screening.

Nothing frustrates an advisory committee more than the word 'advisory'.  Why any extended powers will be used to their full extent and not in the way many people would like.

The consultation process for the HTA Review options paper upfront invalidates the input of companies, patients and clinicians with an unprecedented 'declaration' process that defines any relationship or expression of a lived experience as a conflict.

It was not an easy or enjoyable decision, but the stakes are very high for Australian patients, given the apparent risks to the future of funded access to health technologies. We also discuss Senate Estimates, a new argument to excuse non-action on newborn screening, Medicare bulk-billing and teddy bears, and the right to disconnect.

With just nine days remaining for stakeholders to submit their feedback on the Health Technology Assessment Review options paper, patients must have access to all pertinent information. BioPharmaDispatch interviewed Medicines Australia chief executive and reference committee member Liz de Somer on 31 January. The interview was published on 1 February . Medicines Australia approved all included quo...

The 'Swiss cheese' theory might explain why history is constantly repeating itself and why action is required to avoid the worst aspects of the proposals in the HTA Review options paper.

We are back for 2024 with no end of issues to discuss, starting with the HTA review options paper and the coincidence of many reviews and processes delivering outcomes just ahead of the May Budget.

Looking ahead, the industry needs to find a framework for challenging the government on its decision-making, and awards that recognise the bad, the ugly and the good in 2023. Timeline 0:00 - 12:00 - Why the industry needs to find a framework for challenging the government in its decision-making. Awards 12:00 - 17:00 - 'We definitely seriously want to improve transparency and accountability bu...

More silence on a critical social issue. The report of the NDIS review delivers a range of recommendations, including the adoption of an evidence-based funding framework, but is it practical or even possible? Some interesting comments from NDIS minister Bill Shorten might open the door for advocates of health system reform, a debate that always comes down to a question of health system financing.

We discuss the apparent reluctance to speak out on one important issue. The Government's entirely predictable response to the inquiry on access to new medicines and novel medical technologies, why disappointment is the wrong reaction, and the importance of giving New Zealand's government time to reform Pharmac.

The power of language and the habit governments have of weaponising the word 'sustainable'. How the term has been used to 'gently' justify breaking election commitments and its wider impact on policy development and change.

Some interesting undertones at the Pharmacy Guild's annual parliamentary dinner, a  slow start to 60-day dispensing and whether the plan for a new agreement to be in place by 1 March is realistic. The industry is very effective at advocacy, but not in the way it might think or hope, and the weight loss therapies that have system-shaping implications.

Any nominations for the 'It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time' award? The opportunity to shift the current strategic alignments that impact decision-making, the challenge of diagnosis and why the existing decision-making framework makes it inevitable.

The 'inner circle' running the HTA review and the obsession with confidentiality. An invitation for the government to launch preemptive action to prevent the publication of information that could meet the 'confidentiality' criteria and the least surprising outcome of 2023.

Strange accounting in the health department's annual report with 'adjustments and notional entries required for presentation only' bumping the PBS spend by $1.2 billion. What does it mean? History matters when it comes to policy, with almost nothing happening that the industry did not negotiate, including the time taken to list recommended medicines. This is why the lessons of histo...

Genomics and this week's CanForum, at which Rare Cancers Australia hosted several interesting discussions, particularly highlighting the patient experience and the federal government's desultory plan for an 'advisory committee'. Should the result of last weekend's referendum trigger a rethink by organisations that actively supported the proposed change?

We discuss this week's interview with the HTA review reference committee chair and answer your questions, including whether the denigration of a journalist and patients is unique to New Zealand's Pharmac and why annual elections for industry association boards might be a bad idea.

Not all listeners were happy with our suggestion the current health technology assessment review is not the first 'comprehensive' process in the past 30 years. We are answering that question and have produced a list of between 40 and 50 similar processes since 1993.  It matters because it provides valuable lessons and demonstrates the connection between a review in 2023 and previous proc...

This week's podcast discusses what history tells us about the pre-conditions for change driven by non-government stakeholders - there are few. Are these pre-conditions evident today, or will another policy process end badly? Importantly, there is a way forward in an exclusionary process shrouded in secrecy, but history counts because it provides all the lessons.

A  special week in review recorded in New Zealand with election candidate and former industry executive Todd Stephenson. We were lucky to join Mr Stephenson and ACT leader David Seymour on the campaign trail in Wanaka and Queenstown. We discuss the range of issues impacting the election, including the political and policy focus on Pharmac.

A special guest joins the podcast to discuss the lost opportunity to celebrate a significant anniversary for the PBS and even reshape perceptions of the program. The government has also released its Final Budget Outcome, revealing strong growth in pharmaceutical spending and a problem with invoicing companies for rebates.

The entitlement challenge, secret policy processes, and why they matter. We also discuss why Budget forecasts for PBS spending have minimal use - what matters is the actual spend that reflects the addition of new medicines - and how the combination of events has become an indicator of change.

Two PBS 'demonstrations' in Canberra this week -  different tones but the messages were basically the same. The complex period ahead for the PBS is reflected across the health portfolio. The raft of reviews launched by the Albanese Government since its election will start to land containing a raft of recommendations that could trigger fierce fights between stakeholder groups.

What are the wider implications of the negotiation for a new Community Pharmacy Agreement, to take effect on 1 March 2024, and can another secret policy process deliver for patients? Another managed release of information on the international HTA collaboration reveals an additional 'fragment' on its activities.

The 2023 IGR has reinforced the longstanding isolation of Budget investment in health and new therapeutic technologies as 'costs' that must be managed. It has also acknowledged the challenge of forecasting future spending beyond the short term. We discuss how the IGR and its focus on investment in health as a cost will frame the raft of current review processes.