Publications
PCHSS Research Showcase: future proofing healthcare
10 July 2023
In mid-June, HCCA’s Policy and Research team attended the National Health and Medical Research Centre’s (NHMRC) Partnership Centre for Health System Sustainability (PCHSS/Partnership Centre) research showcase event. The event was focused on what the evidence tells us about creating sustainable healthcare systems.
The first session showcased the outcomes and recommendations from 6 years of projects and research focusing on health system sustainability. The main themes were:
- how to reduce low-value care, to provide better value for our health care dollar;
- the importance of patient reported measures in health research;
- how to better translate research into practice.
Research topics in the session covered a wide range of topics, including:
- Virtual/telehealth
- Health economics
- Social Prescribing
- Consumer participation and partnerships
- Digital health records
- Aged care
- Cancer diagnosis and care
One really interesting concept that was new to us was the ‘Trojan Mouse’. This has been used in Australia as part of work on research translation in Western Australia. One definition of a ‘Trojan Mouse’ is:
Trojan mice… are small, well focused changes, which are introduced on an ongoing basis in an inconspicuous way. A trojan mouse diversifies risk into tiny experiments based on hypotheses about how the system will respond, then uses the results of those experiments to make small, meaningful interventions in the system over time.
If you’re intrigued, here is a short video from the UK Health Creation Alliance on Trojan Mice and their role in transforming healthcare.
The second session was an interactive simulation of the healthcare system. Participants were invited to ‘think outside the box’, exploring solutions to ongoing challenges to the health care system. Health consumers, general practitioners and other health professionals, private health insurers, industry, academics, researchers, and policy makers took part. We found this a challenging but interesting session, highlighting:
- the key aim towards consumer centred care;
- the importance of communication amongst a multitude of stakeholders and interests;
- the complexity of the health care system we continue to work at improving.
You can check out PCHSS’s work on their website. You can also read about their highlights from the PCHSS Research Showcase.