GREG HUNT: Thank you everybody for joining us, I’m joined by Professor Brendan Murphy, the Chief Medical Officer of Australia this afternoon. Under the Prime Minister’s leadership, the National Security Council has met and made decisions to lift the travel advisories for Iran and to impose certain restrictions as a consequence of the spread of…
The start of autumn will bring with it a new sense of hope for over 2,000 Australians with advanced melanoma, with the Morrison Government expanding subsidised access to a breakthrough melanoma treatment option on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) from today. On March 1, the current PBS listing of Opdivo® (nivolumab) will be expanded…
E&OE… Topics: COAG Health Council; Coronavirus update; More contraceptive choice for Australian women. NATASHA FYLES: Natasha Fyles, Northern Territory Health Minister and chair of COAG. We’ve had a very cognitive and constructive meeting this morning. The key agenda items have of course been the coronavirus and the Federal Minister and (inaudible) an…
Australians continue to visit their GPs without having to pay a cent, with the latest Medicare data showing 86 out of 100 visits to the GP were bulk-billed for the 2019 calendar year. The 86.0 per cent bulk billing rate achieved in 2019, is a 4.3 percentage point increase on the 81.7 per cent Labor…
Australian women will soon have access to a new form of contraceptive with the Morrison Government a new listing on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). On March 1, Kyleena® (levonorgestrel), a long-acting reversible hormone-releasing intrauterine system (IUS) contraceptive, will be listed on the PBS for the first time, giving Australian women more choice. …
Australians with an intellectual disability will soon receive greater support, thanks to a Morrison Government $6.5 million investment in the Primary Care Enhancement Program. The funding (GST exclusive) will be provided over four financial years (2020-21 to 2023-24) under the Primary Health Networks (PHN) Program, for development of the Primary Care Enhancement Program (PCEP).…
E&OE… Topics: Coronavirus updates. GREG HUNT: Figures of the current numbers of which we are aware are 80,410 diagnoses – although we do expect newer figures as the afternoon progresses from China – and sadly, 2707 reported and confirmed deaths from the coronavirus. In particular, we know that new cases have been…
The Morrison Government will provide up to $3.3 million for activities to implement the first National Strategic Action Plan for Rare Diseases, which was launched today. The Action Plan will increase awareness and promote earlier, more accurate diagnosis and treatment for around two million Australians suffering from rare diseases. Rare diseases are having…
Applications have opened for the Australian Government’s $2 million grant opportunity to support research into development of a vaccine to protect against novel coronavirus (COVID-19). COVID-19 represents a significant and urgent threat to global health, with the overwhelming majority of cases in Wuhan City in China, and increasing numbers in other countries, including Australia. The…
E&OE… Topics: Coronavirus updates. GREG HUNT: Number of confirmed cases is now at 78,973 on the latest information I have from the National Incidence Centre just prior to coming to this briefing. And sadly, the number of lives lost is 2,466 globally to the coronavirus, although those figures will inevitably be updated…