The 'Dispatched' Podcast

Surprises have become a regular feature of our systems. A better understanding of the details would eliminate the risk. Great news for an Australian family that has suffered the real consequences of policy failures and one host springs a surprise subject on the other.

Strange policy announcements in Queensland. The HTA Review options paper identified the primary cause of access delays - multiple submissions - and proposed changes to incentivise companies to offer price cuts in return for faster listings. Stakeholders should push for 'sunset clauses' in all legislated changes. We discuss the challenges facing a family trying to access support via the NDIS - and how you might support them - and the incredible advocacy of a small group of women.

Why has everything become so political? Our system of insiders and outsiders when it comes to policy. Can the insiders even recognise the problem? The Government's response to the Disability Royal Commission means major changes are coming, including to health decision-making.

Too many still need to understand the difference between policy and health technology assessment - HTA is an instrument of policy. Stakeholders must also consider their broader responsibility to public health and how decisions in one part of the system flow onto others.

Some parts of an institution face the challenge of avoiding complicity in wrong approaches or repeating and even adopting its exclusionary way of working. It is hard. Yet, acting in the interests of patients can require one part of the institution to act against the others. The industry is facing this challenge. 

The combination of political will and trust should be used to help more patients. The poor treatment of a family in Western Australia, the pending departure of one of the greatest advocates for patient access, and the political realignment sending a  message to companies.

It was an interesting week with the Government acting based on conscience to ensure access to medicine and an advisory committee losing it in a public statement. We also discuss the inequity between public programs.

Vapes! The parliament backed a ban on retail distribution of the products, but an amendment will make nicotine-containing vapes more accessible via pharmacy, and businesses will respond accordingly. Also, why should other stakeholders be concerned about how this amendment was negotiated?

The new Community Pharmacy Agreement is a remarkable document. We explain why it should be read and the negotiation analysed. We also discuss the draft National Immunisation Strategy, the events in New Zealand, and whether we can extract ourselves from a policy discussion that is mostly about health financing. 

It's a 'swear jar' episode we discuss the obsession with health technology assessment, why it is used to guide what is just price negotiation, meaning it takes too long, how decision-makers subordinate patient needs to this negotiation, what the future could look like and how it might get even worse.