The Health Technology Assessment Review Implementation Advisory Group (the IAG) has a dedicated web page on the Department of Health and Aged Care’s website. Rare Voices Australia (RVA) encourages all stakeholders in the rare disease sector to check the web page regularly for the latest updates.
The web page includes:
- The role of the IAG
- Membership, which includes a consumer role dedicated to rare disease (Nicole Millis, RVA’s CEO, was appointed to this role)
- Terms of reference
- Meetings
- Communiques
- Contact details
Ministerial letter
Under the terms of reference section, you can download a letter from the Hon Mark Butler MP, the Minister for Health and Aged Care, to Professor Andrew Wilson AO, IAG Chair. The letter outlines the Minister’s priority areas for IAG consideration in line with the terms of reference.
Background information
The Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Policy and Methods Review final report
Alongside the rare disease sector, as the national peak body for Australians living with a rare disease, RVA contributed to the extensive consultation process for the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Policy and Methods Review. When launching the publication of the HTA Policy and Methods Review final report, the government acknowledged the extensive consultation and stakeholder input that informed Accelerating Access to the Best Medicines for Australians Now and into the Future.
Upon its launch, RVA was cautiously positive about the final report, which contains 50 recommendations and references the National Strategic Action Plan for Rare Diseases. We also noted that some of the recommendations can be further strengthened from a rare disease perspective. RVA raised this feedback directly with the Minister for Health and Aged Care’s office.
Enhanced Consumer Engagement Process
The 10 recommendations from the Enhanced Consumer Engagement Process, Enhance HTA: An Enhanced Consumer Engagement Process in Australian Health Technology Assessment – A Report of Recommendations, were released as a companion document to the final report. Nicole Millis, RVA’s CEO, was one of the five consumer members on the Co-design Working Group that contributed to this report.
It’s important to note that this work was informed by, and builds on, The New Frontier – Delivering better health for all Australians.
RVA acknowledges and thanks the many stakeholders across the rare disease sector for their strong contributions to the above processes.
