Message from the Director

I am excited to share the latest developments and achievements at the Centre for Health Economics at Monash Business School.

I would like to extend a huge congratulations to our academic staff who helped win over $2.4 million from four Australian Research Council Discovery Grants. This is unprecedented with our success rate far exceeding the national average. Further details of this exciting research are available on our website.

In September we held our inaugural Centre for Health Economics Policy Symposium: Improving equity and value in the health and care economy. This was held in Canberra with a rich mix of over 100 speakers and participants from the health, aged care and disability sectors, including senior consumer and provider representatives, public servants and academics. Each session was designed to identify common issues across all three sectors. The amount of reform occurring in health, aged care and disability care is significant, and shaping a research and policy agenda needs to be a top priority to ensure reforms improve wellbeing and equity.

Our academic staff and PhD students were also well represented at the Australian Health Economics Society (AHES) Conference, also in Canberra, including our Adjunct Professor (Practice) Bronwyn Croxson, also the Chief Economist in the Ministry of Health in New Zealand, who participated in a special panel session on the Care Economy and Productivity.

Our new integrated PhD program has started, with four new students starting in July. Some of our PhD students are also available for PhD internships for a minimum of three months to conduct research with a partner organisation, so if you are interested in engaging a PhD intern in your organisation, let us know and we will see if your needs fit with their research interests.  I also extend my congratulations to our PhD student Frances Graham, who won the best paper prize at the recent Australian Health Economics Doctoral Workshop, reflecting the high quality of our PhD program and students.

This year, our International Visiting Fellowship was awarded to Dr Anna Wilding of the University of Manchester. Anna arrived in October and will be working with A/Prof Nicole Black on research concerning menopause transition on cognitive function.

I also recently hosted our annual planning day, when we reflected on our strategy, strategic partnerships, and culture. Coming away full of ideas, I was struck by the staff's willingness to adapt dynamically to ever-changing circumstances, thereby strengthening the quality and impact of our research.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our staff, PhD students, collaborators and supporters who make our work possible. Together, we can continue shaping a healthier future for all.

Warm regards,

Professor Anthony Scott
Director, Centre for Health Economics

With half of the year having flown by already, I am delighted to share our latest achievements and exciting plans, spanning new short course offerings and our first-ever policy symposium in Canberra.

CHE Policy Symposium

Planning is underway for our inaugural policy symposium, to be held in Canberra on 2 September.

Improving Equity and Value in the Health and Care Economy will focus on common reform and policy issues across health, aged care, disability and welfare services, now comprising around 15% of GDP.

We will explore how to build more equitable, effective, and resilient health and care systems, and identify the shared policy challenges and priorities across the sectors.

Key sessions will examine how to embed equity in deciding funding priorities, designing funding models to support efficiency, quality and fairness, and protecting systems and equity against climate and global shocks.

Learn more

CHE Short Courses

In early June we delivered two back-to-back short courses on the Economics of Primary Care (delivered by Prof Anthony Scott), and the Economics of Mixed Health Systems (delivered by A/Prof Terence Cheng), focusing on the public-private mix of health care. We had around 25 people attend each day from a mix of industry backgrounds, including the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Medibank, EY, ANZ Health, and primary health networks.

We will hold these courses again in 2026, along with a course on economics of the health workforce.

Advisory Committee

Our annual Advisory Committee meeting was also held in June, providing invaluable advice on the operations of the Centre, our performance in terms of research, funding and impact.  Chaired by Prof. Allan Fels, members come from the Department of Health, Disability and Aged Care, UNSW, University of Melbourne, Consumer Health Forum, Department of Health (Victoria), Australian Health and Hospitals Association, and Croakey.com)

I wish you all a productive few months ahead – please follow us on LinkedIn or bookmark our news and event updates webpage for regular updates.

Warm regards,

Professor Anthony Scott
Director, Centre for Health Economics

I am excited to share the latest developments and achievements at the Centre for Health Economics. We have had a busy start to the year with many exciting initiatives being planned for the rest of year and beyond.

Perhaps the most noteworthy change has been the launch of our new Integrated PhD Program with our first students starting in July. The new Phd comprises a longer program with more advanced coursework, to ensure we are producing the region’s best quality health economists to address real-world policy challenges.

Our other highlights include:

CHE short courses

In February, we hosted the Economics of the Health Workforce short course led by myself and Prof Bob Elliot from the University of Aberdeen. This program provided a non-technical introduction to key economic concepts related to healthcare labour markets, equipping participants with tools to address workforce shortages and improve health outcomes. The course was a great success, attracting over 30 public servants, policymakers, and healthcare managers from across Australia.

Our next two short courses planned for June will be a reprise of one from last year on the Economics of Primary Care, followed the next day by the brand-new short course Economics of Mixed Health Systems, focusing on the public-private mix of health care. Registrations will be open by the end of April. Feel free to follow us on LinkedIn to see details as they become available, or bookmark our news and event updates webpage.

Visitors to CHE

We were privileged to co-host a seminar from Prof Stephane Hess (University of Leeds), a world leader in choice-modelling, in partnership with Dr Jemimah Ride (SPHPM Health Economics Group, Monash).

During March some newer members of our Centre’s Advisory Committee also visited, including Jennifer Dogget from Croakey Media; Elizabeth Deveny, CEO of Consumers Health Forum of Australia; Nadia Levin, CEO of Research Australia; and Kylie Woolcock, CEO of The Australian Healthcare and Hospitals Association (AHHA).

All four spent a day with us, getting to know the team and the scope of work across our research themes. The insights of our Advisory Committee continue to shape our strategic direction and ensure that our work remains aligned with community needs.

New CHE people

We welcome Adam Dzulkipli, who has joined us as a Research Fellow. Adam recently completed his PhD with us and will be working on the ARC-funded Discovery Project, Labour Market and Health Dynamics of Australia’s Front Line Workers, led by A/Prof Sonja De New and Dr Rachel Knott.

We also welcome two new PhD students. Fangqi Ding, whose research will focus on the aforementioned project and Wei Leng, whose research will focus on the Economics of Prevention and, in particular, how prevention activities impact health inequalities.

Looking ahead

Our focus remains on producing rigorous research that informs policy and improves lives. From trial-based economic evaluations to addressing global health inequities and addressing disadvantage, we are committed to driving positive change through evidence-based solutions.

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to our staff, PhD students, collaborators and supporters who make our work possible. Together, we can continue shaping a healthier future for all.

Warm regards,

Professor Anthony Scott
Director, Centre for Health Economics

As we approach the end of 2024, I am delighted to share some very significant wins recently made by the Centre of Health Economics.

Most notably, we have been awarded a new NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Disability. Through the Achieving Health Equity for All People with Disabilities (CRE-AHEAD) project, led by Prof Dennis Petrie, the centre will provide funding of $3 million over five years to conduct research, build research capacity, and make a real difference to the lives of those with disabilities. This is fantastic news, and we congratulate Dennis and his collaborators for their success in this important area of national policy.

Continuing to have an impact

A key issue for Universities is providing incentives for staff to have an impact on society, in addition to longstanding incentives for publication in the highest quality journals.

We have been working to highlight our impacts through the submission of impact cases to Monash Business School. These are based on evidence which can be verified and count towards staff promotion.

The Centre has a bit of a backlog to get through, but so far, we have had the highest number of impact cases within the Business School. Some highlights are:

• Advising the Australian Government on whether to include and subsidise pharmaceuticals in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme which is improving the quality of life of many Australians,
• The expansion of primary care facilities benefiting remote communities in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands,
• Our research on loneliness influencing the funding of new government policies, and
• Our role in the design of the Modified Monash Model, a rural classification that is influencing the allocation of billions of dollars of Commonwealth funding to rural areas for GPs, pharmacists, aged care, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

New short courses on the Economics of Disability and Health Policy and program Evaluation using econometrics.

As part of strengthening our engagement with the health sector, in April we delivered our first short courses (Value-based healthcare and the Economics of Primary Care), which were oversubscribed.

Building on this, we are planning a short course on the Economics of the Health Workforce in early February 2025, so stay connected with us for further details.

Adding to our team

We welcomed A/Prof Terence Cheng to the Centre in August from Harvard University. Terence will co-ordinate the research theme ‘Healthcare financing and market organisation’.  This new theme highlights our research in several areas including healthcare financing and health insurance, provider payment models, health workforce, public-private mix, competition, regulation, technology, and digital markets.

A warm welcome from all of us in the Centre to Aryan Rohanian who is my new Executive Assistant and Administrative Officer. Aryan is supporting a wide range of internal and external Centre activities.

I would like to thank our exceptional academic and professional staff for their continuing contributions to the success of the Centre.

Warm regards,

Professor Anthony Scott
Director, Centre for Health Economics

Over a year has passed since I took over as Director of the Centre for Health Economics (CHE) and I am very much enjoying the role. The Centre continues to go from strength to strength in the quality of our research, external income, and an increasing recognition of our engagement and impact. This growth closely aligns with the strategies of Monash University and the Monash Business School. Since I started, we have been implementing the recommendations of our October 2022 review, which aimed to strengthen engagement and impact and support research excellence. I am sharing here some recent initiatives and achievements aligned with these recommendations.

Research and engagement

New research collaborations include a joint endeavour by Dr Samia Badji, Prof. Dennis Petrie, and A/Prof Gang Chen with colleagues from the Monash University SWITCH Research group and the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics, to explore the carer payments assessment process for those with a disability.

A series of recent appointments to external committees reflects our active commitment to research engagement. Prof. David Johnston has been appointed to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) Victoria's Science, Health and Engineering Advisory Committee. This role will give David the opportunity to support EPA Victoria in protecting human health and the environment by reducing the harmful effects of pollution and waste. I was appointed to three significant government committees at the Department of Health and Ageing (National Nursing Workforce Strategy Steering Group, Strengthening Medicare Oversight Implementation Committee, and the Expert Advisory Panel on the Review of General Practice Incentives and Review of After Hours Programs). These appointments provide opportunities for economic frameworks and health economics research to influence policy. We also welcome the appointment of Prof. Emily Lancsar as the new Chief Health Economist in the Department of Health and Aged Care. Emily is an ex-staff member and current adjunct professor with us.

Staff movements

I am very pleased to announce that Dr Terence Cheng (Harvard University) has been recruited as an associate professor to lead a new research theme on ‘healthcare financing and market organisation’ and will join the Centre in August 2024. Prof. Jan van Ours (Erasmus University) and Dr Bronwyn Croxson (Chief Economist, Ministry of Health, New Zealand) have accepted positions with us as adjunct professors from July 2024. Within the Centre, Dr Rohan Sweeney was promoted to associate professor and Drs Samia Badji and Anh Trinh were promoted to senior research fellow (effective 1 July). We would also like to acknowledge the significant contributions of A/Prof. Gang Chen, Shannon Stanwell, and Annabelle Pontvianne who are leaving us in July. They will be sorely missed and we wish both of them well.

Recent events

Organising, hosting and presenting at research events is at the heart of our commitment to foster engagement and research excellence. CHE Dame Carol Propper gave the opening keynote at the EuHEA 2024 conference in Vienna on low-powered financial incentives in the healthcare sector. Dr Rohan Sweeney and I co-organised and presented a session on ‘Improving health by strengthening healthcare financing in the Asia Pacific’ at the World Health Summit regional meeting , along with speakers from the World Bank, World Health Organization, and the Minister of Health from Fiji. I also co-organised The Future of Medicare: Research-informed policy for better access and health, in collaboration with the Academy of Social Sciences of Australia, the Australian Health Economics Society and the Independent Health and Aged Care Pricing Authority. This event brought together leading academics, policymakers and health professionals to discuss critical issues and research-based solutions for improving Medicare on its 40th anniversary. Prof. David Johnson and CHE colleagues  presented at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society of Economics of the Household (SEHO) in Singapore.

New short courses on health policy topics

As part of strengthening our engagement with the health sector, we delivered our first short courses (Value-based healthcare and the Economics of Primary Care) in April. These courses will facilitate our engagement with those in the health system and help participants apply economic thinking to current health policy issues and debates. Both courses sold out fast and we are planning two more later this year.

As we look to the future, I am confident that the Centre for Health Economics will continue to excel and innovate in health economics research and policy engagement. Our achievements over the past year are a testament to the dedication and hard work of our staff, students, and collaborators. We remain committed to addressing critical health and economic challenges through high-quality research, impactful collaborations, and meaningful engagement with policymakers and the wider community. I am excited about the opportunities ahead and look forward to sharing our future progress and successes with you. Thank you for your ongoing support and involvement in our journey.

Warm regards,

Professor Anthony Scott
Director, Centre for Health Economics

I am excited to share with you some recent highlights and achievements from the Centre for Health Economics (CHE). As we keep pursuing our commitment to innovative and rigorous research that improves the health and wellbeing of the community, it is my pleasure to update you on the centre’s recent projects, grants and events, and our new short courses, PhD students, and visiting scholars.

Projects, grants and reports

Australian Research Council Linkage Project recipients Professor Dennis Petrie and Dr Samia Badji will investigate the Unintended Impacts of Policy for Adaptive Policy Management.

As part of OPTIMAL, a world-first Centre for Research Excellence in immunoglobulin research, Professor Petrie, Dr Laura Fanning, Dr Adam Irving, Sara Carrillo De Albornoz, Dr Abby Zhang and Rainier Arnolda will research how to improve the management of immunoglobulin therapies in Australia.

Monash University Boost Incubator Grant recipients Dr Udeni De Silva Perera and Dr Maame Esi Woode will work with colleagues at Monash University Indonesia and Malaysia, and the Asian Development Bank to explore gaps and opportunities in health financing in the South and Southeast Asian region, and the role of digital health and health fintech as a source of health financing.

Giovanni Empel and I will join a collaboration with the Australia-Indonesia Institute, funded by KATALIS, to examine the potential for bilateral cooperation in nursing, including an assessment of the state of nursing labour markets in both countries.

Dr Anh Trinh, Professor Dennis Petrie, Professor Dame Carol Propper, Dr Johannes Kunz, and recent CHE PhD graduate Dr Karinna Saxby provided background research to the newly released ADB report What has COVID-19 taught us about Asia’s health emergency preparedness and response?, addressing how linked administrative data can be used to guide rapid pandemic responses as well as how internet access might be an important tool in preparing for unprecedented health emergencies.

Associate Professor Nicole Black, Professor Anthony Harris, Dr Danusha Jayawardana and Professor David Johnston produced a policy brief for VIcHealth High inflation and implications for health examining the potential pathways through which high inflation may impact on health.

Events

To foster collaboration within our research community, we hosted the Workshop on Accessibility and Affordability of Healthcare (20 November 2023), the 15th Workshop on the Economics of Health and Wellbeing (19–21 February 2024), and the 13th Australasian Workshop on Econometrics and Health Economics (10–12 April), with guests from Australian and international universities. These events served as platforms for thought-provoking discussion, knowledge sharing, and networking opportunities. Looking ahead, we are pleased to help coordinate a session on Improving health by strengthening healthcare financing in the Asia-Pacific at the upcoming World Health Summit Regional Meeting (22–24 April).

Education

Our commitment to engagement through education is strengthened through two new full day short courses to mark the 40th anniversary of Medicare: Value-based Health Care (18 April 2024) and Economics of Primary Care (19 April 2024). These courses are designed to enable healthcare professionals, policymakers, academics and clinicians to apply economic thinking to current health policy issues and debates. The courses provide invaluable opportunities for professional development and skill enhancement. This is in addition to our role in the Masters of Business with a specialisation in health economics.

New PhD students and visitors

Our vibrant community continues to grow stronger with the addition of two new PhD students: Gyeore Cha and Paula Wilton. We also had the pleasure of welcoming A/Prof Giuseppe Moscelli (University of Surrey), the recipient of the CHE’s International Visiting Fellowship Program, who is working with me on health workforce research. We look forward to exploring fresh perspectives and fruitful collaborations.

Warm regards,

Professor Anthony Scott
Director, Centre for Health Economics

As the new Director of the Centre for Health Economics (CHE) since July 2023, I have been impressed by the quality and impact of the research undertaken at the centre. I am fortunate to have exceptional academic and professional staff and I am excited to share some of their recent achievements.

We recently secured a significant and highly competitive Australian Research Council Discovery grant, highlighting our commitment to research excellence, in addition to new funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), and the federal Treasury.

ARC DP recipients Nicole Black, David Johnston, Trong Anh Trinh, and Leonie Segal (University of South Australia) will investigate the economic causes and consequences of child maltreatment, including the value of economic policies for reducing the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment.

Laura Fanning will evaluate the cost effectiveness of immunoglobulin versus alternatives to prevent infections in patients with blood cancers within the RATIONAL Platform Trial, which currently includes 3 trial domains.

Current projects also include research conducted by David Johnston, Rachel Knott and Andrew Ireland and funded by the Department of Treasury that explores the impacts of temperature on labour force dynamics and business performance.

Duncan Mortimer, Anthony Harris and collaborators are working on an NHMRC Partnership Grant to investigate the effect of personalised feedback and financial incentives on young driver crashes.

Jing Jing Li, Kah-Ling Sia, Peter Ghijben, Esa Chen, Leonie Picton, Dennis Petrie, and Karen Yong have recently completed a narrative review of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee's (PBAC) decisions from 2012-2022 focusing on the role of surrogate outcomes in PBAC decisions of cancer therapies. The Health Technology Assessment group has also started working with the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) conducting evaluations to inform funding for vaccines on the National Immunisation Program (NIP) for all Australians.

Besides these new projects and grants, we launched an International Visiting Fellowship Program, which will enrich our academic community and strengthen our global partnerships.

I am also delighted to have just been appointed to a major Federal Government Medicare committee - the Strengthening Medicare Implementation and Oversight Committee of the federal Department of Health and Ageing. This follows the recent rollout of the MyMedicare scheme, under which patients can voluntarily enrol with a GP.

In October, we held our annual CHE Planning Day, which brought together all CHE staff to discuss current issues and future goals for the centre, with exciting initiatives being planned for 2024 and beyond.

Finally, I would like to welcome Rainier Arnolda and Yalelet Yihun as the newest additions to our PhD program, and welcome back visiting scholars Professor Matthew Sutton, Dr Rachel Meacock, and Dr Luke Mumford from the University of Manchester.

As we approach the end of the year, I wish you a joyful holiday season and a healthy, productive and prosperous New Year.

Warm regards,

Professor Anthony Scott
Director, Centre for Health Economics