New HTA body to give patients access to medical technology of the future
Media Release
29 May 2009
Australia needs to redesign its system for the assessment of new medical technologies to cope with the rapid evolution and innovation in medical technology. The current health technology assessment (HTA) system is inflexible, inefficient, slow, duplicates processes and lacks transparency. In its submission to the governmental review of HTA, the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) is calling for the establishment of a dedicated independent body to address the current shortcomings.
"We need a dedicated body for the assessment of new and innovative medical technologies," said Anne Trimmer, MTAA CEO.
"Devices and diagnostics are different from pharmaceuticals. They need to be assessed differently. The current system is not sufficiently flexible to assess the range of medical innovation and emerging technologies."
The challenges presented by emerging technologies are considerable. Many not too distant technologies are hybrids, combining devices, diagnostics and pharmaceuticals, such as:
• Micro-sized nano-robots with tiny motors that roam the body and deliver radio waves to kill tumours
• Point-of-care diagnostics that result from the fusion of genomics and information technology
• Release of a pre-determined quantity of a drug stored in a silicon chip in a patient's body on receipt of a remote wireless signal sent via an electrical current
• An extension of this chip technology to enable monitoring of patients at home for signs of heart attack and hypoglycaemia in order to release the appropriate drugs.
The Review of Health Technology Assessment was jointly announced by the Ministers for Health and Ageing and Finance and Deregulation in December 2008. It is an opportunity to implement reforms to an area of the healthcare system overdue for examination.
The key reforms that MTAA seeks from the Review are:
• An independent HTA body, separate from regulatory and reimbursement bodies, to assess medical technologies
• A collaborative and transparent framework in accordance with good governance principles
• Simplified reimbursement processes.
"Medical technology needs to be assessed for the smarter benefits it brings to patients and the healthcare system," concluded Ms Trimmer.
The submission is available on the MTAA website at http://www.mtaa.org.au.
The Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA) is the national association representing companies in the medical technology industry. MTAA aims to ensure the benefits of modern, innovative and reliable medical technology are delivered to the community for a healthier Australia.
Media contact: Marion Demann MTAA 0416 625 678
