芒果直播 has welcomed a new Productivity Commission report that recommends prioritising prevention programs to combat chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

The interim report, , is the final of five interim reports the Productivity Commission has released to help guide the Australian Government鈥檚 productivity agenda.

In its submission to the Delivering quality care more efficiently report, 芒果直播 called for a consistent, national approach to diabetes prevention and the development of self-care models for people living with diabetes.

In response to those calls, recommendation 3 of the report calls on the Australian Government to implement a National Prevention Investment Framework to support prevention programs that improve outcomes and reduce demand for future acute care services.

Australia is in the midst of a type 2 diabetes epidemic with one person diagnosed every eight minutes.

芒果直播 CEO Justine Cain said the individual and economic benefits of investing in chronic condition prevention and wellbeing are well documented.

鈥溍⒐辈� has long advocated for a national framework to inform investment in programs that prevent chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, as well as the complications relating to all types of diabetes,鈥� Ms Cain said.

鈥淭he recommendations in this report demonstrate that the Federal Government鈥檚 peak economic advisory body also understands the importance of such an approach.

鈥淲e hope that this high-level endorsement will be the catalyst for much needed action around prevention, particularly when it comes to the prevention of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes.

鈥淲e are ready to work with the government and the broader health community to turn these ideas into action and improve the lives of all those affected by diabetes,鈥� Ms Cain said.

The Productivity Commission鈥檚 final report, titled Growth Mindset, will be released next year after another round of community consultation later this year.

About 芒果直播

芒果直播 is the national organisation supporting all people living with or at risk of diabetes. We put people first. We work in collaboration with member organisations, consumers, health professionals, state-based organisations, researchers and the community.

For more information visit: www.diabetesaustralia.com.au

People will be able to access cheaper diabetes medicines following yesterday鈥檚 announcement by the Albanese Government of an increase in the number of medicines available for two-month prescriptions.聽

The announcement covers 24 diabetes medicines including Metformin and Forxiga.

芒果直播 Acting Group CEO, Taryn Black, said the change will save people living with diabetes up to $189 per medicine.

鈥淒iabetes is a complex condition, and living with it can be a significant burden. The expanded list of medicines lightens the load for people living with diabetes and their families,鈥� Ms Black said.

鈥淢any people are taking two or three medicines to manage their condition, as well as additional medications to treat other issues such as blood pressure, heart disease, or mental health challenges.

鈥淎s the expense of these medicines piles up, we often hear from people about how hard it can be to pay for all of these prescriptions, particularly as they struggle with cost-of-living pressures.鈥�

Rick Parsons, who was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at 39 after two heart attacks, said he takes medications to help manage his condition every day.

鈥淚鈥檝e been taking Forxiga and Metformin for 15 years. I might be on this medicine for the rest of my life,鈥� Mr Parsons said.

鈥淎 60-day script means half as many trips to the pharmacy and half as many trips to my GP, just to fill a script for my medicine. It will save me money and time, for as long as I take this medicine.

鈥淲hen you鈥檙e living with type 2 diabetes, the right medicine is so important and even being able to save a few dollars a month on my script is a welcome change. Every little bit helps.鈥�

Both Mr Parsons and his wife, Michelle Jewels-Parsons, live with type 2 diabetes and take numerous medicines each day.

Ms Black said 芒果直播 applauded the Government for reinvesting the money it saved from the reforms into pharmacies through new programs and payments to provide more services.

鈥淧harmacies are such an important part of our health system and a really important source of health advice and support for people living with diabetes,鈥� Ms Black said.

A full list of the 184 medicines now available for longer prescriptions can be found .

芒果直播 and leading researchers are in Parliament this week calling for an emergency injection of funding into vital diabetes research.

Acting 芒果直播 Group CEO, Taryn Black, said this is a critical time for Australian diabetes research as National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding has declined by 35% over the past decade while the number of people living with diabetes has increased by 32%.

鈥溍⒐辈� and our partners have called on the government to invest $10 million in emergency research funding in this year鈥檚 Federal Budget to help us keep the doors open in research labs across the country,鈥� Ms Black said.

鈥淩esearch creates hope, and that鈥檚 essential for a person living with diabetes.

鈥淲ithout diabetes research, insulin would not have been discovered and we would not have seen the huge advances in treatments and technologies like continuous glucose monitoring that have emerged in recent decades and changed people鈥檚 lives.

鈥溍⒐辈� is steadfast in our commitment to research which will ultimately improve the lives of people living with, and at risk of, diabetes.

鈥淥ver the past 10 years, 芒果直播 has invested more than $40 million in supporting nearly 450 critical research initiatives across all types of diabetes.

鈥淲e need the government to prioritise diabetes research too because research holds the key to arresting the diabetes epidemic which has grown into a global killer,鈥� Ms Black said.

Currently, around 2 million Australians are living with diabetes and that number is projected to reach 3.6 million by 2050.

Pre-budget submissions made to the Federal Government by 芒果直播, Australian Diabetes Society and Australian Diabetes Educators Association show that every year, diabetes costs the Australian health care system $3.4 billion and is responsible for 11% of hospitalisations.

鈥淲e have genuine concerns that some critical areas of research will not be able to continue beyond the next 12 months,鈥� Ms Black said.  

鈥淭his is research that is identifying potentially ground-breaking discoveries into one of Australia鈥檚 major health priorities.鈥�

A/Professor Sof Andrikopoulos, President of Australian Diabetes Society, said the funding decline had brought diabetes research to a dire state in Australia.

鈥淩esearch is the only way we will be able to improve treatment for people living with diabetes and ultimately find a cure,鈥� he said.

鈥淎ustralian researchers are undertaking world-class studies into important areas like diabetic ketoacidosis, eye disease and type 1 screening programs for children, to name just a few.

鈥淲e must continue to support this work.

鈥淚t also makes financial sense, with economic analysis showing medical research delivers a return of almost $4 for every dollar invested.

鈥淭he diabetes community anticipates that the return on investment for diabetes research could be even higher because it generates better treatments that ultimately reduce the impact of serious complications on the health care system,鈥� he said.  

In three pre-budget submissions, 芒果直播, along with ADS and ADEA, have also called for the Federal Budget to include:

• A Diabetes and Obesity Health Mission under the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)
• Expanded access to continuous glucose monitoring for people with type 2 diabetes who use insulin
• A national diabetes kidney disease screening program
• A national diabetes prevention phone line
• An expansion and adaptation of the Diabetes in Schools program to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living with type 2 diabetes
• A funded Implementation Plan for the government鈥檚 National Diabetes Strategy
• MBS funding to support initiation of diabetes technology by a Credentialled Diabetes Educator (CDE)
• Funded CDE visits for people most at risk of diabetes-related complications
• Funded CDE visits for people with gestational diabetes mellitus both during and post-pregnancy.

New data released today from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has found that the Australian health system spends almost $2.5 billion a year on all types of diabetes, even before closely linked conditions like kidney and heart disease and stroke are included.

芒果直播 Group CEO Justine Cain said the figures highlighted the importance of investing early and focusing on preventing type 2 diabetes and reducing people鈥檚 risk of diabetes complications like kidney and heart disease.

鈥淭he Australian health system spends $2.5 billion per annum directly on diabetes,鈥� Ms Cain said.

鈥淥n top of this diabetes is a leading cause of heart disease, which costs the health system more than $2 billion per annum, chronic kidney disease which costs $1.7 billion and stroke which costs $660 million.

鈥淭hese four conditions combined cost the Australian healthcare system $6.86 billion every single year. 

鈥淲ith gross national debt forecast to go past one trillion dollars in the coming years it is clear we need smart spending and smart policy to get better outcomes and reduce the strain on our health system.

鈥淭his means investing early in preventing type 2 diabetes and preventing complications from all types of diabetes.

鈥淭his Federal Election we are asking all sides of politics to commit to a number of priority actions including improving access to diabetes technology, better early detection of all types of diabetes, preventing diabetes-related complications and reducing the impact of diabetes in First Nations communities which would deliver huge savings for the Australia economy.

鈥淚n many cases it is about taking existing elements of the health system and building on them or tweaking them.

鈥淭ake chronic kidney disease for instance, there are excellent treatments available on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that can prevent or manage kidney disease and help people avoid costly and debilitating complications like dialysis.

鈥淭hese treatments work best when kidney disease is detected early but only around a quarter of all people with kidney disease get checked within recommended time frames.

鈥淭he reasons for this are complex but 芒果直播 is confident that a $1.6 million Diabetes Kidney Disease Screening Program would boost screening rates and dramatically reduce chronic kidney disease.

鈥淭his is an example of targeted, cost-effective policy that would deliver real, long-term savings and improve health outcomes for hundreds of thousands of Australians.鈥�

You can read 芒果直播鈥檚 full 2022 election platform here.

芒果直播 welcomed the cost-of-living measures in the Federal Budget, however the organisation was disappointed there was no funding to increase access to life-saving diabetes technology.

芒果直播 Group CEO Justine Cain said the organisation had been hopeful funding would be allocated to expand the Continuous Glucose Monitoring Initiative which currently provides free access to continuous glucose monitoring and flash glucose monitoring technology for eligible groups.

鈥溍⒐辈� shares the disappointment of Australia鈥檚 diabetes community that the Budget didn鈥檛 include funding to increase access to diabetes-related technology,鈥� Ms Cain said.

鈥淭here are tens of thousands of Australians who would benefit from this technology and I鈥檝e heard countless stories from people living with type 1 diabetes about how this technology would improve their quality of life.

鈥淎dditionally, improved access would reduce the incidence of debilitating short- and long-term diabetes complications.

鈥淲e know it remains a leading priority for people living with type 1 diabetes and we will continue to advocate for expanding access in the lead up to the Federal Election.鈥�

Ms Cain said the organisation, along with the Australian Diabetes Educators Association and the Australian Diabetes Society was also advocating for funding to support the health professionals providing education to people with diabetes using these technologies.

鈥淒iabetes technology is life-changing but people with diabetes need access to education and support from endocrinologists and credentialled diabetes educators to ensure they can get the best of out of it,鈥� she said.

鈥淪o while we are grateful for the support the Government has already provided to help around half of all people with type 1 diabetes access the technology, it is important that the health professionals who are critical to the optimal use of these technologies aren鈥檛 forgotten and are appropriately reimbursed for their time and expertise.鈥�

Ms Cain said the Budget鈥檚 cost of living measures, including lowering the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme safety net thresholds to allow people access to cheaper medicines sooner, would help ease the financial pressure of managing diabetes.

鈥淢any people with diabetes use multiple medicines and lowering the safety net threshold could save people around $80 a year. That might not seem like a lot, but the recent found almost one in four people could not afford to fill a prescription at some point in the past year,鈥� Ms Cain said.

鈥淭he other cost-of-living measures in the budget will also help people with diabetes, many of whom spend thousands of dollars a year managing the condition.鈥�

However, Ms Cain said the budget didn鈥檛 do enough to address the type 2 diabetes epidemic or to reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications.

鈥淚 noted with interest funding for a study to look at the feasibility of introducing restrictions on the marketing of unhealthy food and drink to children,鈥� she said.

鈥淭his is definitely a step in the right direction but we were hoping for dedicated funding to support type 2 diabetes prevention programs and initiatives aimed at reducing the risk of debilitating and costly complications including kidney and heart disease.鈥�

Ms Cain said the upcoming Federal Election was an opportunity to secure more funding for diabetes.

鈥溍⒐辈モ�檚 election platform outlines nine key actions across four areas that would have a huge impact on the lives of people with diabetes and the sustainability of our health system,鈥� she said.

鈥淢any of the actions we are calling for, including a Diabetes Kidney Disease Screening Program and a training program for aged care workers supporting people with diabetes, only require a small investment but would generate substantial savings for the health system.

鈥淲e understand the current tight fiscal environment makes funding new programs difficult but what we are asking for is smart spending that builds a better, more resilient health system.鈥�

Read 芒果直播’s 2022 Federal Election Platform here.

A special message from 芒果直播 Group CEO Justine Cain on Close the Gap Day:

“All Australians and Australian businesses have a role to play in closing the gap.

I am committed, and 芒果直播 is committed to doing all we can.

Diabetes is having a devastating impact on the lives of First Nations Australians.

Australia has the highest rate of type 2 diabetes in teenagers and children in the world. It is First Nations children and teenagers who are bearing brunt of this.

The younger people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the worse the health outcomes are. Sadly, First Nations people experience higher rates of diabetes-related complications including kidney disease and limb amputation.

These are some of the reasons why diabetes is the single biggest contributor to the gap in life-expectancy between First Nations people and other Australians. 

This is unacceptable in a wealthy, developed nation like ours.

The time for action is now.

We acknowledge that to have a real impact on the epidemic of diabetes in First Nations communities we need First Nations-led policies and strategies.

We are very lucky to have Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander woman Deanne Minniecon, a highly respected health leader, guiding us.

We鈥檝e also just engaged one of Australia鈥檚 leading First Nations-owned consultancies to undertake the largest ever community conversation with First Nations people living with diabetes and those who care for them as well as health workers who work with First Nations people.

We care committed to listening, learning and delivering programs that lead to real and lasting change. 

Tomorrow we will be launching new education materials designed to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers better support people with diabetes. They鈥檝e been developed in partnership with Australia鈥檚 top First Nations diabetes health professionals, are culturally appropriate and cover all the major aspects of diabetes management.

These are just some of the things we are doing to help close the gap and secure a better future for all Australians.”

Australia鈥檚 leading diabetes organisations welcome the Federal Government鈥檚 announcement of $10 million in funding over four years to establish the new Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovation (ACADI) at the University of Melbourne.

The ACADI will be a new virtual research centre connecting research hubs from around Australia and will link in with key industry partners and diabetes organisations to help develop new treatments, technologies and behavioural interventions to meet the challenges of the diabetes epidemic.

芒果直播 Group CEO Justine Cain said the announcement highlighted the Federal Government鈥檚 commitment to supporting people with diabetes.

鈥淭he research priorities for the Centre include diabetes-related kidney disease, peripheral neuropathy and other foot-related issues as well as acute complications of diabetes, specifically hypoglycaemia and ketoacidosis,鈥� Ms Cain said.

鈥淚t will provide a platform to accelerate the translation of clinical research into real world therapies and technologies that improve the lives of people with diabetes.

鈥溍⒐辈� will be working in partnership with ACADI to ensure its research is closely aligned to the needs of people with diabetes and the diabetes workforce.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to thank Health Minister Hon. Greg Hunt and the Federal Government for recognising how important this program is.

鈥淚鈥檇 also like to congratulate A/Professor Elif Ekinci who will be leading ACADI. Elif is one of Australia鈥檚 leading diabetes researchers and her expertise and passion will be integral to the Centre鈥檚 success. I understand it was a highly competitive bid process, lead by Elif, and we are very pleased with the outcome.鈥�

Australian Diabetes Society CEO A/Professor Sof Andrikopoulos said the Centre would drive innovation in diabetes research.

鈥淲e have world-class diabetes researchers in Australia and this Centre will help do exactly what its name says 鈥� accelerate innovation across all aspects of diabetes research,鈥� A/Professor Andrikopoulos said.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited to see the impact this has on the way we support people with diabetes in Australia.鈥�

Australian Diabetes Educators Association President Tracey Tellam said research and innovation were crucial to meeting the challenges of the diabetes epidemic.

鈥淒iabetes is complex and impacts every part of a person鈥檚 health. We need new treatments, therapies and approaches to ensure everyone living with diabetes can live a long, healthy and productive life. ADEA looks forward to contributing to the mission of ACADI,鈥� Ms Tellam said.

ACADI Director, A/Professor Elif Ekinci said she was passionate about leading the Centre to deliver on its vision to improve the quality of life of people with diabetes.

鈥淎s a clinician researcher I see the first-hand impact of diabetes every day including the serious complications of the condition,鈥� A/Professor Ekinci said.

鈥淲orking with people with diabetes fuels my passion to deliver better healthcare and support through translational research and I鈥檓 excited to work with a great team of collaborators and partners across Australia to innovate and improve the health of millions of people.鈥�  

The Australian Centre for Accelerating Diabetes Innovations Research Centre (ACADI) was established through Medical Research Future Fund funding from the Australian Government鈥檚 Targeted Translation Research Accelerator program, delivered by MTPConnect.