2020-2023 have been three of the toughest years experienced by those on the front line of healthcare and emergency services and those working to bring us cutting edge medicines, vaccines and to protect our patients against world-wide medicine shortages.
For Australians with cancer and for those who may have delayed in seeking a diagnosis of their disease, it’s been an incredibly stressful and worrying time.
But as we emerge from this global health and economic pandemic, we look once again to the bright future of cancer care.
Private Cancer Physicians of Australia has long been a high impact peak body that advocates for cancer patients, the medical and radiation oncologists and haematologists who care for them and the private healthcare system we all must navigate and ensure remains robust and resilient.
Together with our patient advocacy groups and other cancer doctors and clinical trial colleagues, we lead the engagement with the nation’s decision-makers and opinion formers to ensure they prioritise the needs of Australians living with cancer. Recent examples of our work include:
- Seeking (and being granted) an extension of six months for Telehealth for patients needing phone consults with their specialists
- Ensuring cancer patient navigators are front and centre of the National Cancer Plan
- Ring-fencing cancer patients – and their chemotherapy treatments – from the Special Pricing Arrangement (SPA) reforms
- Extending MBS to subcutaneous chemotherapy treatments
- Achieving all of our key objectives for cancer patients out of the long-running MBS review
- Expanding access to key oncology medicines
We have worked hard to harness funding and meaningful policy outcomes and our track record is reflected in our high political capital with all sides of politics.