Month: January 2025

Download PDF The mental health of Australians has been the cornerstone of my career. From my frontline work as a psychologist in major NSW hospitals to my current role as CEO of the Australian Patients Association, my focus has always been unwavering: putting patients first. It is from this perspective that I find the looming mass resignation of 201 out of 260 public hospital staff specialist psychiatrists in NSW deeply troubling. This drastic action, a response to unmet demands for

Original Article: https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/health-and-wellness/price-must-be-right-to-put-obesity-pill-on-the-pbs-20250106-p5l2av Download PDF It is vital that the gatekeepers of the scheme hold the line on the cost benefits of blockbuster drugs. Whether to fully subsidise the new-generation weight loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Ozempic for obese Australians without diabetes represents one of the most challenging decisions in years for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). The drugs are known collectively as GLP-1 agonists, and no other class of medications has gained such a foothold in the

  Original Article: https://www.afr.com/policy/health-and-education/mediscare-he-said-she-said-insults-voters-intelligence-20250106-p5l2b4 Download PDF A Labor- Coalition clash over bulk-billing is not only foolish, but masks the fact that much more must be done to keep our healthcare system fit for purpose. Since the demise of the Abbott government’s $7 mandatory GP co-payment, a 2014 budget measure, Medicare bulk-billing for general practitioner services has become more of an untouchable sacred cow than ever. It has become as preserved in political aspic as the sclerotic, chaotic and inefficient National