Funding pathways for digital health devices key in MTAA submission to inquiry

MedTech News: The Medical Technology Association of Australia’s (MTAA) Connected Healthcare Advisory Group (CHAG) has this week submitted its response to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into productivity titled ‘Digital Health for Patients and Productivity’.

This Productivity Commission inquiry is the second in a series, undertaken at five-yearly intervals, and is intended to provide an overarching analysis of where Australia stands in terms of its productivity performance, and of what steps could be taken to improve productivity growth in the future, particularly in light of Australia’s COVID-19 experiences.

The MTAA submission outlines how the inquiry should focus on digital health, now called Connected Health, as an opportunity for Australia to transform its health system and improve the wellness of all Australians as a key avenue to productivity growth. It noted “Despite the opportunities to incorporate connected health into reforms of this nature, use and integration of connected health in the formal health care system, not to mention the aged and disability care systems, lags well behind the integration of digital technology elsewhere in our daily lives and in other sectors such as the financial sector.”

MTAA CEO, Ian Burgess, said advances in Connected Health needed to be front and centre of the nation’s productivity agenda and warrant their own Productivity Commission inquiry.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how critical Connected Health is, particularly when governments and the health system require dynamism and speed to address challenges,” Mr Burgess said.

“Connected Health will become increasingly central to the way governments think about solving problems. That’s why we need to be selecting, investing in, and implementing Connected Health solutions across our health, aged care and disability care systems now.”

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In its 2017 review, Shifting the Dial, the Productivity Commission identified policies to make ‘healthier Australians’ a top priority to improving the nation’s productivity. Included in the report were recommendations that specifically address Connected Health and described ways Connected Health could play an integral part in this objective.

MTAA’s mission over the coming months ahead is helping policymakers and decisionmakers better understand what Connected Health means on both a macro and micro level. Connected Health isn’t just telehealth, but also remote monitoring and alerts, digital patient care and self-care tools, artificial intelligence and effective sharing of health data and records.

Connected Health doesn’t just apply to patients undergoing treatment, but also to people at risk or in need of further support, including the clinically ill, the aged and those living with disability. In short, Connected Health means utilising information and communication technology solutions to advance patient care and support the most vulnerable amongst us.

As vital as Connected Health will continue to be in the months and years ahead it still, too often, lacks the funding, infrastructure and political will to seize the opportunities staring Australia in the face.

The CHAG’s submission calls for the Productivity Commission to investigate and consider a number of recommendations including community funding scheme for digital devices, updated MBS digital health item numbers, review approaches to HTA for digital health interventions, additional digital health funding under the National Health Reform Agreement, integrating digital health solutions in Aged Care and policy changes to improve Australia’s economic performance.