Research Australia has made a submission to the Treasurer in relation to the 2015-16 Budget. Research Australia’s submission urges the Government to implement the MRFF and to invest in health and medical research as a means of improving the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of Australia’s health system.
Healthcare Variation
Research Australia has made a submission to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare in response to its discussion paper on variation in healthcare across Australia. Research Australia’s submission proposes that while variation in health care is an indication of room for improvement it does not indicate what this improvement should be or how it should be implemented. Research Australia’s submission highlights the need to improve our data collection and expand our capacity for analysis and the identification of best practice. We also need to improve the mechanisms for communicating best practice and undertake research into how evidence of variation in healthcare can be used to motivate the adoption of best practice.
Australia’s Innovation System
Research Australia has made a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Australia’s Innovation System. Innovation is crucial to making the most of Australia’s discoveries in health and medical research, developing new products, and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of Australia’s healthcare system. Research Australia has called for a national ‘whole of governments’ innovation strategy and the inclusion of innovation on the COAG agenda, as well as some specific measures to drive innovation in health.
Social Impact Bonds – Submission to the SA Government
The South Australian Government issued a discussion paper seeking on the suitability of Social Impact Bonds to fund innovative new programs. Research Australia’s submission proposes the use of Social Impact Bonds to address the well recognised problem of translating research outcomes and discoveries into practice in the health system. Specifically, Research Australia believes that Social Impact Bonds could be an effective mechanism for funding and evaluating pilot projects and clinical trials designed to implement and evaluate new evidence based practices and interventions. The benefits of implementing successful new interventions are improved patient care and efficiency gains in the South Australian health care system.
Pre Budget Submission 2014
Each year the Treasurer invites the Australian community to make submissions in relation to the preparation of the budget for the following financial year. Research Australia’s recommendation are:
- Maintain the aggregate real value of Commonwealth Government funding for health and medical research across all funding programs.
- Fund the implementation and monitoring of the McKeon Review recommendations.
- Increase funding for research to support the effective and rapid translation of new discoveries into practice.
- Increase funding for health systems research to increase our capacity to analyse and identify best practice for the Australian health care system and to increase research into the most successful, effective and efficient delivery mechanisms and structures for implementing best practice.
- Expand the mandate of the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care to include efficiency as well as safety and quality, and provide incentives for health care providers to nominate existing practices and initiatives to the Commission for adoption as part of the Healthcare Standards.
- Increase funding for population health and preventive health research to improve the effectiveness of preventive health campaigns and identify emerging trends in the health and disease profile of the Australian population.
- Retain programs that support Australian research and development (R&D) and innovation, including Commercialisation Australia and the R&D tax incentive.