Poor policy and inadequate regulation of medical technology is driving low-value care in Australia’s private health system

Rachel David

doi:10.1071/AH24006

RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

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Poor policy and inadequate regulation of medical technology is driving low-value care in Australia’s private health system

Rachel David ^A ^*

+ Author Affiliations

- Author Affiliations

^A Private Healthcare Australia, Suite 7, 1 Farrer Place, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia.

^* Correspondence to: Rachel.David@pha.org.au

Australian Health Review 48(2) 119-122 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH24006

Submitted: 12 January 2024 Accepted: 7 March 2024 Published: 28 March 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)

Abstract

Millions of Australians use the private health system every year. They should receive safe, high-quality, value-based care. However, poor policy and inadequate regulation of medical technology is driving low-value care at great expense to consumers and the broader health system. Key drivers include the Prescribed List of Medical Devices and Human Tissue, gaps in quality and safety controls for devices being used, and marketing and conflicts of interest. All of these should be addressed to reduce low-value care in Australia’s private health system, so consumers are protected from harm and limited health budgets are used effectively.

Keywords: low-value care, medical technology industry, Prescribed List of Medical Devices and Human Tissue, private hospitals, private health system, spinal cord stimulation, spinal cord stimulators, value-based care.

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