A $200+ million opportunity to transform health delivery: improving health outcomes; reducing waste in the health system; building businesses and jobs.
Announced on Friday 13 April with:
- Senator Zed Seselja, Assistant Minister for Science, Jobs and Innovation
- Professor Christine Bennett, Interim-Chair of the Digital Health CRC
- Dr Bronwyn Evans, Chair of MTP Connect
- Dr Zoran Bolevich, Chief Executive, eHealth NSW
- David Jonas – CEO Designate of the Digital Health CRC
Australia’s health system has contributed to a transformation in the human condition. We’re living longer – a child born today will on average live to 83 and see in the 22nd Century. We’ve largely defeated infectious diseases and our roads and workplaces are safer than they’ve ever been.
But
Our longer lives bring with them a greater risk of chronic and degenerative diseases which are difficult and expensive to manage and treat.
Obesity and Type 2 diabetes are on the rise. The health system can’t keep up. Australia’s annual health expenditure has passed $170 billion which is more than 10 per cent of GDP.
And the system is splitting at the seams. It’s too complex: for patients and their families, for health professionals, for industry, and for government. For example, adverse drug reactions in Australia are responsible for over 400,000 GP visits a year, and for 30 per cent of elderly emergency admissions. The cost is over $1.2 billion. We believe that half the cost is avoidable.
The Digital Health CRC will
- Improve the health and wellness of hundreds of thousands of Australians
- Improve the value of care and reduce adverse drug events
- Join up data in the health system creating an improved system benefiting all Australians
- Save the Australian health system $1.8 billion
- Create at least 1000 new jobs in the digital health and related industry sectors
- Create new companies and products for Australian and global markets
- Create a new digital workforce and build the capacity of clinicians and consumers to become digital health ‘natives’
The Digital Health CRC’s 80-member organisations represent every segment of the health system from patient to community, hospital to insurer, start-up to big government. Our researchers, from 16 universities, will work with our health partners to develop and test solutions that work for real patients in real hospitals and other settings of care. And our business partners will work alongside them to ensure that the solutions are scalable and implementable. We’ll develop them in Australia, then take them to the world. To catalyse the latter, we are partnering with US-based company, HMS, that provides solutions and services to health insurers and their customers across 48 US states.
Media release from the CRC: www.scienceinpublic.com.au/media-releases/digitalhealth
Backgrounder: www.scienceinpublic.com.au/media-releases/digitalhealth-backgrounder
For interviews and further information visit www.digitalhealthcrc.com
Or contact:
- Niall Byrne, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, 0417-131-977
- Elizabeth Foley, Digital Health CRC Bid Manager, on efoley@digitalhealthcrc.com or 0402 893 829.
