Draft Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research in Australia Lists 21 Recommendations. (October 4, 2012)

Simon McKeon, Chairman of the Strategic Review into Health and Medical Research and Chairman of the CSIRO board today released its 34-page "Draft for Public Comment" of the Strategic Review of Health and Medical Research in Australia.

In addition to Mr McKeon, the review panel consisted  of:

• Ms Elizabeth Alexander AM;

• Professor Henry Brodaty AO;

• Mr Bill Ferris AC;

• Professor Ian Frazer AC; and

• Professor Melissa Little.

The panel's website states that it:

First met in November 2011 and held its eighth private meeting over the period 3-5 July 2012 in Sydney, called for written submissions on 4 February 2012, received over 300 submissions, many of which are from key stakeholders in health and medical research.

The Panel commenced a series of public meetings in mid-April which were held in every capital city. In addition  private stakeholder consultations involved 71 meetings, covering some 172 different stakeholder groups, and more than 200 individuals.

The information gathered during the public and private meetings has been added to the information presented in the 340 submissions received.

Mr McKeon writing in The Conversation says: "The overarching message from this paper is that Australia needs a stronger connection between health and medical research, and the delivery of health-care services. Embedding research into health care will ensure government investment in research benefits all Australians – through better health outcomes – and delivers the greatest economic value."

The panel's nine key recommendations as cited in the chairman's Conversation article:

• Investing at least 3% of Australian and state and territory government health expenditure (an additional A$2bn to A$3bn per year by mid 2023) to drive research activity within the health system as an embedded component of the Australian government’s health reforms

• Establishing “Integrated Health Research Centres” combining hospital networks, universities and medical research institutes to create globally relevant centres of excellence and drive translation of research into clinical practice

• Creating up to 1,000 competitive practitioner fellowships for leading clinicians that protects 50% of their time to further embed research within patient care

• Providing increased sector leadership by a rejuvenated NHMRC

• Supporting focused research based on priorities of immediate clinical relevance to Australians, and in key areas such as Indigenous health, rural and remote health, and application of genomics to personalised medicine

• Maintaining research excellence by making research a more attractive career path with improvements in people support, career flexibility and granting processes, and by strategic investment in infrastructure such as biobanks and data linkage networks

• Advancing clinical trials, public health research and health services research

• Providing clear pathways to translate research evidence into clinical practice, including a matching Translational Development Fund for early stage development and commercialisation

• Incentivising high end philanthropy to invest in identified health priorities

Below is the full list of 21 recommendations.

How much the review will be overshadowed by the government's driving preoccupation with delivering a budget surplus this coming financial year remains to be seen.