More than 50 patient advocates, patient organisations, healthcare leaders, and policymakers gathered in the nation’s capital for the 2025 Patient and Parliament Summit, hosted by Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) Australia. The Summit theme, ‘Shaping Healthcare Together: Patients, Policy and Productivity’, spotlighted the link between a healthy and productive society, the importance of the patient voice in healthcare decision making and the urgent need for healthcare reform that delivers faster and fairer access to innovative medicines for all Australians.
Shaping Healthcare Together: Patients, Policy & Productivity
Australian Minister for Health, Disability and Ageing, The Hon. Mark Butler MP
Held from 7–9 October, the Summit provided a powerful platform for patients to share their lived experiences directly with Members of Parliament. These conversations underscored the human and economic cost of delayed access to treatment, highlighting that lost labour force participation due to chronic disease is projected to cost Australia $67.7 billion by 2030, equating to 459,000 lost productive life years.¹
Owen Smith, BMS Australia & New Zealand General Manager, and the Summit participants
The roundtable for patient organisations convened at the Summit focussed on patient evidence in Health Technology Assessment (HTA) and its critical role in supporting healthcare decision making that is informed by patient preferences, values and needs.
Highlights from the Summit
- Patients shared their lived experiences with their Federal Member of Parliament to highlight the critical need for reform that delivers faster and fairer access to medicines.
- Hosted by the Parliamentary Friends of Medicine and featuring The Hon Mark Butler, MP, Minister for Health and Ageing, Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme; Commissioner Alison Roberts of the Productivity Commission; and Richard Vines, the founder of Rare Cancers Australia; a panel discussion focused on the intersection between access to innovative therapies and a more productive Australia.
- At the Shaping Healthcare Together Policy Roundtable the leaders of 25 Australian patient organisations together with policymakers explored HTA reform priorities, including the role of patient evidence and how patient engagement can be incorporated earlier to better support robust HTA decision making.
Watch patients and patient group representatives reflect on the impact of the 2025 Summit in the video below.
References:
¹Investing in the prevention of chronic disease to increase productivity in the Australian economy: Submission to the economic reform roundtable (no date) The George Institute for Global Health. Available at: https://www.georgeinstitute.org/our-impact/policy-statements-and-recommendations/investing-in-the-prevention-ofchronic-disease-to-increase-productivity-in-the-australian-economy (Accessed: 29 September 2025)
