State of the Australian Health Industry

An interesting report by Martin Van Der Weyden discussed the state of the Australian health industry, in particular, research and development.

Health is one of the major industries in Australia, employing more than half a million people with national funding for the 1999 – 2000 financial year reaching $55.7 billion, equivalent to 8.8% of Australia’s GDP.

In October this year, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) announced that 406 new research projects totaling $150 million would commence in 2003. However, not one of the 406 projects directly involves R&D, and only one of the larger and long-term multidisciplinary grants specifically addresses the health policy.

Click on the link above to read the full article in eMJA.

(Source: eMJA Medical Journal of Australia)