15 October 2018 — Submission

ADVERTISING TO THE PUBLIC: Complying with the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code 2018

Consumers Health Forum

CHF welcomed the Review of Medicines and Medical Device Regulation. Whilst we did not support all the recommended approach of removing the required pre-approval of therapeutic goods advertisements to a complaints-based system, we are pleased to work with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to ensure that new arrangements will continue to protect consumer interests.

We agree with the opening statement that “therapeutic goods are not usual items of commerce” mainly because of their capacity to cause harm or for there to be adverse consequences for consumers who use them.  We know there are low levels of health literacy in Australia and this means that many consumers only have limited capacity to assess the merits of therapeutic products, so advertising aimed at consumers can be more influential than for other types of products.

9 October 2018 — Consumers Shaping Health

Consumers Shaping Health Volume 12 Issue 4 October 2018

Consumers Shaping Health
2 October 2018 — Report

Results of Australia’s Health Panel survey on recommendations and regulation of smartphone apps for health and wellness

Consumers want support in finding accurate, effective smartphone apps for health and wellness, and they should be subject to an authoritative regulatory system that rates them for efficacy.

As consumers increasingly turn to health apps to aid and monitor their health and treatment, there’s clearly a need for people to know whether they can trust the apps, and whether they offer the best health option available and are worth the investment in time and money.  

Our survey results highlight the growing public demand for credible and effective oversight of health apps given their accelerating reach into every aspect of health care.

27 September 2018 — Submission

Response to the Pharmaceutical Society: Pharmacists in 2023 Discussion Paper

Consumers Health Forum

CHF applauds the PSA’s renewed commitment to quality, safety, and meeting evolving community needs. We support the PSA’s intention to expand pharmacist roles but feel that this discussion paper has focused too much on community pharmacists and has overlooked the possibilities for hospital and consultant pharmacists, particularly at the point of clinical handover when communication between GPs and community pharmacies is crucial. With the title ‘Pharmacists in 2023’, CHF does wonder where PSA sees hospital pharmacists and consultant pharmacists fitting in and whether organisations like the Society for Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (SHPA) have been consulted in this vision.

17 September 2018 — Report

Snakes & Ladders: The Journey to Primary Care Integration

Consumers Health Forum, The George Institute, The University of Queensland

This report presents the arguments as to why all political and other leaders must act now to transform Australia’s health system to ensure it is sustainable, effective, efficient, and leads to greater satisfaction for both consumers and service providers.

The report provides priorities for those leaders to maximise opportunities to achieve better health and wellbeing outcomes for individuals, their families and communities, and thereby unlock both social, capital and economic benefits for Australia.

13 September 2018 — Presentations and Speeches

Transcript: Digital Inclusion, Health Literacy and My Health Record Webinar

Watch here: youtu.be/B-9Z7KpQqW0 In this webinar, we discuss among other topics what skills are required to use My Health Record, the level of digital inclusion in Australia and discuss the ethics of the decision to opting people with low digital or health literacy into the My Health Record system.

10 September 2018 — Submission

Medical Research Future Fund: Priorities Survey

The Australian Medical Research Advisory Board sought reflections and feedback on the first set of priorities for the Medical Research Future Fund (the MRFF) via a survey. This submission details CHF’s responses to the key questions in the survey.

6 September 2018 — Presentations and Speeches

Transcript: Risks of My Health Record Webinar

Watch here: youtu.be/M59yAJt_njM   In this webinar, we discuss among other topics the risks to privacy and security, the risk to community perceptions of the intersection between the health system and government, and what measures are in place to manage and mitigate these risks.

Panellists

  • Tony Kitzelmann – ADHA Chief Information Security Officer and General Manager for the ADHA Cyber Security Centre
  • Dean Martin – Consumer Advocate, ADHA Consumer Advisory Committee member, Research Manager at Black Dog Institute
  • David Hansen – CEO of the Australian e-Health Research Centre, Chair of the Health Informatics Society of Australia board
  • Aaron Cogle – Executive Director, National Association of People with HIV Australia
3 September 2018 — Presentations and Speeches

Transcript: Benefits of My Health Record Webinar

Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=xdOpbG8ZJo8. In this webinar, we discuss among other topics the benefits to the individual, the benefits to the health system, the barriers to realising benefits and what work is underway to measure benefits. This will include a discussion of some of the risks and limits, however the risks will be looked at in greater detail in following webinars.

3 September 2018 — Position Statements

Australian Consensus Framework for Ethical Collaboration in the Healthcare Sector

APEC

Since 2010, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has supported the development of statements articulating ethical principles for business and the healthcare sector in order to maximise the interests of patients and consumers, enhance access to safe and effective healthcare, and build public trust. APEC statements of ethical principles have been developed or are under development in a number of APEC member economies.

The Australian “Consensus Statement of Shared Values and Ethical Principles for Collaboration and Interaction among Organisations in the Healthcare Sector” is a government-supported, sector-led initiative that has been developed collaboratively by professional bodies, industry organisations, hospital and health services associations, regulators, patient and advocacy groups and other related organisations.

The Australian Consensus Statement does not replace existing statements, codes and guidelines, nor does it supersede, relace or re-interpret relevant Commonwealth, State or Territory laws and regulations. The Australian Consensus Statement describes the values and ethical principles that should form the basis of collaboration and interaction among organisations in the healthcare sector, and aims to:

• Promote collaboration and interaction among healthcare sector organisations and those who work within them that benefits patients, consumers, students, educators, communities, populations, healthcare systems and the healthcare sector.

• Encourage better dialogue, trust and respect between and amongst organisations in and working with the healthcare sector.

• Enhance the integrity and trustworthiness of organisations in the healthcare sector.

• Promote public confidence and trust in healthcare sector organisations by demonstrating a shared commitment to integrity and ethics.

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