The 'Dispatched' Podcast Daily Dispatch

Some important messages and learnings from this week's 'Valuing Life—Medicines Access Summit' in Wellington, with patients and clinicians leading with a straight-talking critique of decision-making that has clearly resonated with New Zealand's political leaders.

The importance of scrutinising claims involving data, particularly regarding health care, and the double standard regarding productivity. Kudos to a company for welcoming a new listing but calling out that it has taken over 650 days since TGA registration. The challenge of social media for vulnerable communities.

The 2024-25 Budget is fast approaching. We discuss what to look for, where to exercise caution, and what to ignore.  More examples of where informing is confused with consulting leading to the problematic implementation of reform.

The health department is allowing employees to vote on a new name for its main building. We have some suggestions. Is our health system capable of learning from patient experience and the challenges many severely immunocompromised patients face battling to access treatments and immunisation?

This is a podcast without any mention of that HTA Review! Delegated decision-making is a significant feature of Australia's health system. How can advocacy and any push for change be effective without understanding how delegation works? The reality is that when a minister delegates a decision-making power, they formally remove themselves from the decision.

Where do we start? Last year, the minister described Australia's HTA decision-making as clunky and agreed that it led to unnecessary deaths. How does that admission sit with his latest appointments? We start putting together the pieces of a worrying puzzle and constructing a timeline.