UTS: Engage - the Lessons Learnt

Rachel Hooke discusses the key messages discussed at the recent UTS: Engage session on Health Futures, can we afford to live?

• With silver bullets few and far between, we should look at a shift in focus to preventative medicine. With foresight and innovation in the area of preventative medicine, the gap between good quality healthcare and funding should be significantly reduced.
• At present, only 2% of the research budget in Australia is in preventative health.
• A good example of prevention was provided by a collaboration between the Australian company Cochlear Limited and UTS. Through collaborative research and development, the architectural design of a cochlear implant coil was modified to reduce the incidence of microbial biofilm formation. The incidence of infection leading to removal of the implant was significantly reduced by such a preventative step.