Societal Preferences in Health Technology Assessments for Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs: A Systematic Literature Review of New Analytic Approaches.

Objectives: This systematic literature review aimed to explore experiences worldwide of societal preferences integration into health technology assessments (HTAs) for rare diseases (RDs) and orphan drugs (ODs) through the implementation of multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), discrete choice experiments (DCEs), and person trade-off (PTO) methods, among others.

Methods: A systematic search of the literature was conducted in April 2021 using PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and Scopus databases. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses approach was used for the review phases.

Barriers and Enablers Affecting the Uptake of Biosimilar Medicines Viewed Through the Lens of Actor Network Theory: A Systematic Review.

Background And Objective: Biosimilars represent an opportunity to realise savings against the costs of innovative medicines. Despite efforts made by stakeholders, there are numerous barriers to the uptake of biosimilars. To realise the promise of biosimilars reducing costs, barriers must be identified, understood, and overcome, and enablers magnified.

Development and implementation of the Specialist Palliative Care in Aged Care (SPACE) Project across Queensland.

There is an urgent and unmet need for specialist palliative care services in residential aged care. The Specialist Palliative Care in Aged Care (SPACE) Project aimed to improve palliative and end-of-life care for older people living in residential aged care facilities in Queensland. A representative working group developed a series of service principles around palliative care practice in aged care (comprehensive resident-focused care, streamlined service, and capacity building).

Diagnosis and management of acute infections during telehealth consultations in Australian general practice: a qualitative study.

Background: The use of telehealth has increased dramatically since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about how GPs manage acute infections during telehealth, and the potential impact on antimicrobial stewardship.

Aim: To explore the experiences and perceptions of GP trainees' and supervisors' use of telehealth, and how it influences their management of acute infections.

Clinical stakeholder preferences for paediatric cardiac surgery outcome reporting in Australia and New Zealand.

Background: Outcome reporting is an essential element of quality assurance. Evaluation of the information needs of stakeholders of outcome reporting is limited. This study aimed to examine stakeholder preferences for the content, format, and dissemination of paediatric cardiac surgery performance data in Australia and New Zealand.

Economic evaluation of antimicrobial stewardship in primary care: a systematic review and quality assessment.

Background: Primary care accounts for 80%-90% of antimicrobial prescriptions, making this setting an important focus for antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) interventions.

Objectives: To collate the findings and critically appraise the qualities of economic evaluation studies of AMS or related interventions aimed at reducing inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing in primary care.

Methods: A systematic review of economic evaluations of interventions aimed at reducing inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing in primary care was performed.

Antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections and acute bronchitis: a longitudinal analysis of general practitioner trainees.

Background: Most antibiotic prescribing for upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) and acute bronchitis is inappropriate. Substantive and sustained reductions in prescribing are needed to reduce antibiotic resistance. Prescribing habits develop early in clinicians' careers.

Impact of a health services innovation university program in a major public hospital and health service: a mixed methods evaluation.

Background: While health services and their clinicians might seek to be innovative, finite budgets, increased demands on health services, and ineffective implementation strategies create challenges to sustaining innovation. These challenges can be addressed by building staff capacity to design cost-effective, evidence-based innovations, and selecting appropriate implementation strategies. A bespoke university award qualification and associated program of activities was developed to build the capacity of staff at Australia's largest health service to implement and evaluate evidence-based practice (EBP): a Graduate Certificate in Health Science majoring in Health Services Innovation.

Antibiotic use in Australian and Swedish primary care: a cross-country comparison.

Objective: Antimicrobial resistance is a growing worldwide problem and is considered to be one of the biggest threats to global health by the World Health Organization. Insights into the determinants of antibiotic prescribing may be gained by comparing the antibiotic usage patterns of Australia and Sweden.

Design: Publicly available data on dispensed use of antibiotics in Australia and Sweden between 2006 and 2018.

Preserving antibiotics for the future: Where Australian general practice sits on the global spectrum.

Background: Antibiotics have revolutionised modern medicine; however, since their discovery a century ago, their effectiveness against common infections is waning. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most important challenges of our time. Reversing the trend of increasing resistance is vital to ensure procedures such as surgery, neonatal care and organ transplants remain safe.

Where to from here? Identifying and prioritising future directions for addressing drug-resistant infection in Australia.

Background: The Australian National Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy calls for a collaborative effort to change practices that have contributed to the development of drug-resistance and for implementation of new initiatives to reduce antibiotic use.

Methods: A facilitated workshop was undertaken at the 2019 National Australian Antimicrobial Resistance Forum to explore the complexity of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) implementation in Australia and prioritise future action. Participants engaged in rotating rounds of discussion using a world café format addressing six topics relating to AMS implementation.

Systematic review and validity assessment of methods used in discrete choice experiments of primary healthcare professionals.

Introduction: Discrete choice experiments (DCEs) have been used to measure patient and healthcare professionals preferences in a range of settings internationally. Using DCEs in primary care is valuable for determining how to improve rational shared decision making. The purpose of this systematic review is to assess the validity of the methods used for DCEs assessing the decision making of healthcare professionals in primary care.

Antidepressant use in Australia and Sweden-A cross-country comparison.

Purpose: To compare the dispensed use of antidepressants in Australia and Sweden.

Methods: We analysed publicly available data from Australia and Sweden on dispensed use of antidepressants from 2006 to 2018.

Results: The dispensed use of antidepressants has increased in both Australia and Sweden.

The effects of therapeutic activity kits in emergency department patients with dementia: Study protocol for a pragmatic randomized control trial.

Aim: To determine the effectiveness of therapeutic activity kits on health service use and treatment delivered in the emergency department (ED) in patients with pre-morbid dementia.

Design: Pragmatic randomized control trial with equal parallel groups.

Methods: Participants with dementia will be randomly assigned to the control group (N = 56) or the intervention group (N = 56).

Applying an Implementation Framework to the Use of Evidence from Economic Evaluations in Making Healthcare Decisions.

Background And Objective: There is a need for the application of theory in understanding the use of evidence from economic evaluations in healthcare decision making. The purpose of this study is to review the published literature on the use of evidence from economic evaluations for healthcare decision making and to map the findings to the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR).

Methods: A systematic search strategy was used to identify studies investigating the factors that determine the use of evidence from economic evaluation in healthcare decision making.

A systematic review and critical analysis of cost-effectiveness studies for coronary artery disease treatment.

: Cardiovascular disease remains the primary cause of death among Australians, despite dramatic improvements in overall cardiovascular health since the 1980s. Treating cardiovascular disease continues to place a significant economic strain on the Australian health care system, with direct healthcare costs exceeding those of any other disease. Coronary artery disease accounts for nearly one third of these costs and spending continues to rise.

Development of a Procedure for the Government Provision of Bone-Anchored Prosthesis Using Osseointegration in Australia.

Background: Governmental organizations are facing challenges in adjusting procedures providing equitable assistance to consumers with amputation choosing newly available osseointegrated fixations for bone-anchored prostheses (BAPs) over socket-suspended prostheses.

Objectives: The aims of this study were to (1) present a procedure focusing on tasks, documents and costs of prosthetic care, and (2) share observed obstacles and facilitators to implementation.

Methods: This research aimed at developing a governmental procedure for the provision of BAPs was designed as an action research study.

Cost-effectiveness of bone-anchored prostheses using osseointegrated fixation: Myth or reality?

Background: In principle, lower limb bone-anchored prostheses could alleviate expenditure associated with typical socket manufacturing and residuum treatments due to socket-suspended prostheses.

Objective: This study reports (a) the incremental costs and (b) heath gain as well as (c) cost-effectiveness of bone-anchored prostheses compared to socket-suspended prostheses.

Study Design: Retrospective individual case-controlled observations and systematic review.

Economic evaluation of fecal microbiota transplantation for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection in Australia.

Background And Aim: Clostridium difficile is the most common cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea in Australia. In 2013, a randomized controlled trial demonstrated the effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). The aim of this study is to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of fecal microbiota transplantation-via either nasoduodenal or colorectal delivery-compared with vancomycin for the treatment of recurrent CDI in Australia.

Bridging the gap: exploring the barriers to using economic evidence in healthcare decision making and strategies for improving uptake.

Evidence from economic evaluations is often not used to inform healthcare policy despite being well regarded by policy makers and physicians. This article employs the accessibility and acceptability framework to review the barriers to using evidence from economic evaluation in healthcare policy and the strategies used to overcome these barriers. Economic evaluations are often inaccessible to policymakers due to the absence of relevant economic evaluations, the time and cost required to conduct and interpret economic evaluations, and lack of expertise to evaluate quality and interpret results.