Helping make choices over healthcare funding

Monday, 8 December 2008

Are our governments making the right choices about medical treatments they choose to support and fund? How should these decisions be made?

This will be the topic of the last of the University of Adelaide's 2008 free Research Tuesdays Public Seminars on Tuesday 9 December.

Professor Janet Hiller, Professor of Public Health and Deputy Head of the University's School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, will discuss the range of considerations used to make decisions to make available, fund or remove health care services and treatments.

"Traditionally, decisions were made on the basis of opinions of experts, lobbying or copying what other countries do," Professor Hiller says.

"Now we are increasingly relying on using evidence of need, safety, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and social or ethical issues to inform these decisions. Although we would expect policy makers to want to investigate health care that is effective and safe, sometimes other considerations become just as important."

Professor Hiller is Director of Adelaide Health Technology Assessment, a research centre at the University of Adelaide which undertakes research to evaluate healthcare that helps guide policy and decision makers.

Held on the second Tuesday of every month, Research Tuesday gives leading experts from the University of Adelaide an opportunity to engage with business, community leaders and the general public on issues that impact on them.

WHAT: Research Tuesday: 'Widgets, gadgets and other health technologies: using evidence, priorities and values to guide choices'
WHERE: Lecture Theatre 102, Napier Building, North Terrace Campus, University of Adelaide
WHEN: 5.30pm, Tuesday 9 December
COST: Free. Please book by email: research.tuesdays@adelaide.edu.au or phone: (08) 8303 3692

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