The 'Dispatched' Week in Review - 26 September

On the Dispatched Podcast this week, we reflect on the erosion of public confidence in health decision-making. Former Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton’s admission that some COVID-19 measures were not strictly evidence-based highlights the need for a Royal Commission, which would have compelled accountability and helped restore trust.The discussion then turns to MSAC’s rejection of newborn screening for Pompe disease. Health Minister Mark Butler must intervene, not least because he has previously pledged support to affected families.Looking abroad, Australia can look to New Zealand’s overhaul of Pharmac, particularly its decision to bring in external leadership and critics. It provides a model for cultural reform. In contrast, Australia’s system is mired in the same conversations among the same insiders.The podcast closes on the Trump administration’s proposed 'Most Favored Nation' pharmaceutical pricing policy and the new 100 per cent tariff. The Albanese Government, they predicted, would adopt a wait-and-see approach, shaped by a long history of industry warnings about lost access to medicines that rarely materialised.