Patients Australia

17/02/2026

18 February is International Asperger’s Day.

It’s a chance to build understanding of Asperger’s and the autism spectrum, and to recognise the real challenges people can face when systems, services and conversations aren’t designed with neurodiversity in mind.

Small shifts in awareness can make a big difference.

17/02/2026

When Paul visited the GP for neck pain, a range of tests led to an unexpected discovery – his abdominal cavity was covered in tumours.

Paul was living with stage 4 pseudomyxoma peritonei, a rare and aggressive abdominal cancer, and didn’t even know it.

Since then, Paul has endured major surgery, months of treatment, and now lives with a permanent colostomy.

His future is uncertain, and the financial pressure of bills, rates and medical-related costs is adding up quickly.

Any support you can offer Paul is deeply appreciated: https://bit.ly/45Nk5So

17/02/2026

Australians have saved over $20,000,000 on medicines so far in 2026! 🎉

On 1 January 2026, the government REDUCED the maximum cost of PBS prescription medicines from $31.60 to $25, the lowest price since 2004.

Affordable Medicines Now Patients Australia

15/02/2026

Heart Valve Disease Awareness Week is a reminder of a condition that many Australians are living with, often without realising. For some people, symptoms can be subtle or easy to brush aside, which can mean heart valve disease isn’t always picked up early.

Awareness initiatives led by organisations like hearts4hearts help start important conversations, encourage earlier checks, and support better outcomes for people living with heart valve disease ❤️

12/02/2026

Are you living with one or more chronic diseases or conditions? Share your views on supportive apps.

Managing a chronic illness can feel like a full time job. Between GP and specialist appointments, navigating insurance, managing out of pocket costs, and repeating your history, the work of being a patient or carer can be exhausting.

Patients Australia is sharing a survey on behalf of myAgency, a start up technology company exploring the potential development of a patient centred platform to support people managing chronic healthcare.

The survey aims to understand whether this concept would be helpful for people living with one or more chronic conditions. The survey is conducted independently by myAgency. It is anonymous, takes approximately 5 to 10 minutes to complete, and participants can choose to enter a draw for one of two $50 vouchers by providing their contact details at the end.

Click on the survey link and complete by Monday 16th February 2026.

Chronic Disease Survey – Fill out form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=Nr1i6a2Z30yZL6jGF377MFrCqLNsM7JKov_drlSEAmpUNlI3RURVTVMyMFM4SFJGMEgzSUFFUUVRVy4u&route=shorturl

11/02/2026

05/02/2026

World Cancer Day acknowledges that every experience of cancer is different.

Each person’s journey is shaped by their own circumstances and the support available to them, from diagnosis through treatment and beyond.

The theme United by Unique reflects these differences and the importance of care that recognises people as individuals.

Patient experience continues to matter in conversations about cancer care 💙

10/10/2025

📢 Welcome to the Board

We’re delighted to welcome Natalie Phan as a Casual Board Director at Patients Australia.

Natalie is a health executive, clinician, academic, and Board Director with extensive experience leading strategic initiatives and digital health transformation across public and private health sectors. She brings clinical insight and governance expertise to amplifying patient voices in healthcare policy, service transformation, and service delivery.

👥 Join us in welcoming Natalie to the team!

06/10/2025

Better healthcare starts with listening to patients. Patients Australia is holding an online focus group to hear directly from patients and carers about your experiences and perspectives on solutions to improve access to care.

Join our focus group on 17 or 18 October 2025 and receive a gift voucher as a thank you for your time.

What you share will help shape our advocacy and ensure changes to the health system reflect the real needs of patients.

Link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=v_pNuSu6skOJO8vS2rAwLBy5_qy3xuZGnSzLJkybi_lUOEdGQTRVODNNMVNTODNIWUlEUFlVTjk4Ty4u

29/09/2025

When care becomes too costly, patients pay the price in more ways than one.

Patients Australia is holding an online focus group on 17–18 October to hear directly from patients and carers about how these costs affect daily life.

If this is your experience, we’d love to hear from you. Details to express your interest: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=v_pNuSu6skOJO8vS2rAwLBy5_qy3xuZGnSzLJkybi_lUOEdGQTRVODNNMVNTODNIWUlEUFlVTjk4Ty4u

29/09/2025

Focus Group Opportunity: Have you struggled to access a medicine approved by the TGA but not yet listed on the PBS?

Patients Australia is collecting real-world experiences to highlight the personal and financial challenges Australians face while waiting for essential medicines to become affordable and accessible.

If you or someone you care for has faced delays or high costs because a needed medicine isn’t yet on the PBS, we want to hear from you. Sharing your experiences can help us call for faster, fairer access for all patients.

Join our online focus group on 17 or 18 October 2025 and receive a gift voucher as a thank you for your time.

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=v_pNuSu6skOJO8vS2rAwLBy5_qy3xuZGnSzLJkybi_lUOEdGQTRVODNNMVNTODNIWUlEUFlVTjk4Ty4u

A link to express your interest in joining is in the comments below.

Medicines Australia

23/09/2025

Universal Healthcare needs resuscitation and reinvigoration. Now.

In this year’s Australian Healthcare Index (AHI), released today, three in four Australians said they have changed healthcare decisions because of financial pressures. We’re not ok with this.

We run the AHI annually with Healthengine to provide a national pulse check on the state of healthcare. This year’s results highlight serious equity concerns.

Young adults and women were most affected, with many resorting to buy now pay later services, medical payment plans or even drawing on superannuation early to cover essential care such as dentistry or surgery.

Of those who changed their healthcare decisions due to cost of living:
• 58% missed or delayed dental treatment
• 55% missed or delayed a GP/doctor visit
• 41% missed or delayed allied health appointments (physio, chiro, acupuncture, etc.)
• 32% missed or delayed buying needed medications
• 31% missed or postponed a diagnostic test or scan
• 28% missed or delayed mental health support
• 23% downgraded to a less expensive private health insurance cover
• 16% cancelled private health insurance altogether

Thank you to Penny Timms for covering the AHI release in the Australian and shining a light on the growing gap between those who can access care and those who are forced to delay or miss it.

We also thank Dr Joycelyn Ling for co-authoring the report with our CEO Lisa Robins, to SpectData's Jesslyn Tan for the data analysis, and the Healthengine team for editing and publishing the report.

This year's report: https://australianhealthcareindex.com.au/australian-healthcare-index-september-2025-report/

The media release: https://www.patients.org.au/post/three-in-four-australians-report-changing-healthcare-decisions-due-to-financial-pressures

Penny's article: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fhealth%2Fmedical%2Fconcerns-over-rise-of-buy-now-loans-to-pay-for-healthcare%2Fnews-story%2Fcc4b0debd7457be48412dac3a169d970&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-1-SCORE&V21spcbehaviour=append