We know diabetes technology can significantly improve health outcomes and quality of life for people who use it. That’s why it is so important for people living with diabetes to be able to access the technology they need to live well.

We also know that we are living through a medical revolution and new breakthroughs leading to new medicines and technologies are occurring all the time. We need a regulatory and reimbursement system that is flexible and adaptable to evaluating the next generation of technology quickly so people don’t have to wait for life-saving technology.

This is why Diabetes Australia, along with our partners in the Australian Diabetes Alliance, including the Australian Diabetes Educators Association, the Australian Diabetes Society, JDRF Australia, the Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society and the Australian and New Zealand Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, provided a submission to the recent review into Australia’s health technology assessments policies and methods.

Developed in collaboration with people living with diabetes and Australia’s leading diabetes experts, our submission called for:

• Greater flexibility in the assessment and approval processes
• Faster access to technologies and medicines
• Subsidies to ensure everyone who would benefit from a technology can access it including expanding access to insulin pumps and glucose monitoring technology for people living with type 2 diabetes
• Taking into account the mental health and quality of life benefits of different technology.

You can read a summary of our submission here: Diabetes Alliance submission to the Health Technology Assessments Policy and Methods Review