Beyond the symptoms is a regular opinion piece from CHF CEO Dr Elizabeth Deveny who provides a unique perspective on current and emerging health policy issues that affect consumers. Her thought-provoking reflections challenge traditional views on consumer-informed policy and offer innovative thought leadership to enhance health equity, honouring consumer’s rights to make informed health decisions, and highlighting the necessity for health decision-makers to partner with consumers and communities.   Both professionally and personally I've grappled with the daunting task of understandi ..read more

CEO Update from Consumer Roundtable with Minister Butler in Sydney One of CHF’s main roles is to amplify consumers’ voices so they can be heard amongst the many well-funded vested interests in the health sector. Yesterday, CHF had the pleasure of hosting a face-to-face discussion between five amazing consumers and Health Minister Mark Butler who acknowledged that power imbalance and took genuine interest in the real-life stories relayed by consumers. Those consumers were Justan Singh (from Sydney), Kelly Foran (Glen Innes, NSW), Jordan van Rosmalen (Coolangatta, QLD), Shivana Chandra and Karin ..read more

The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has thrown its support behind the Consumer Health Forum of Australia’s (CHF) calls for the Australian Government to fund public education that fully explains the Medicare system to the public.   The Understanding Medicare – Understanding your health campaign, which is part of CHF's 2024-25 Budget submission, would give consumers the health literacy tools to help them save money, navigate the health system and improve their health.  “When we talk to Australian health consumers about Medicare, they tell us about how much they like their litt ..read more

cake-1.jpg CHF has continued to advocate strongly for health consumers as Medicare celebrated its 40th anniversary on 1 February 2024. In the media and directly to Health Minister Mark Butler, CHF CEO Elizabeth Deveny has called on the Australian government to fund CHF to deliver public education on how best to better understand and access all the health services that Medicare provides. This need for greater support for health literacy education was supported by key sector representatives who attended a CHF stakeholder lunch in Melbourne on 31 January. Attendees included representatives fro ..read more

kate-moore-1200x900.jpg Vale Kate Moore, 20 July 1944 - 9 August 2023 This month, we learned that former CHF CEO, Kate Moore, had passed away after a short illness. Kate was CEO of Consumers Health Forum from 1992 to 1999. Kate left a profound legacy on the status of health consumer influence, as a driving force, custodian, and advocate for CHF during its formative years, and a mentor to many people who came after her.   Former CHF Chair, Janne Graham, put together this tribute, drawing on the experiences of those who were privileged to know Kate and work with her. Prior to 1989 ..read more

kate-moore-1200x900.jpg Vale Kate Moore, 20 July 1944 - 9 August 2023 This month, we learned that former CHF CEO, Kate Moore, had passed away after a short illness. Kate was CEO of Consumers Health Forum from 1992 to 1999. Kate left a profound legacy on the status of health consumer influence, as a driving force, custodian, and advocate for CHF during its formative years, and a mentor to many people who came after her.   Former CHF Chair, Janne Graham, put together this tribute, drawing on the experiences of those who were privileged to know Kate and work with her. Prior to 1989 ..read more

Three CHF Rural and Remote Special Interest Group (CHF R&R SIG) Queensland members attended in-person the Queensland Rural and Remote Clinical Network (QRRCN) annual forum in Cairns on 7 June 2023. Another Health Consumers Queensland (HCQ) member, Maureen came from Far Western Queensland to represent the rights and interests of First Nations Rural and Remote health consumers. The event saw more than 225 delegates attend online and in person. The forum’s keynote speaker was the Honourable Warren Snowdon, a former politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives for the Nor ..read more

The Australian Digital Health Agency (ADHA) has been continually developing My Health Record to meet the needs of Australians, and these improvements wouldn’t have been possible without consumers like yourselves testing, providing feedback, and advocating for what consumers need. Now, My Health Record is more accessible than ever, as the Agency have released the MyHealth App. Consumers Health Forum (CHF) has previously put the word out to our Special Interest Groups about the Myhealth App, and asked for their feedback. Everything we’ve heard has been positive. “I’m absolutely amazed how good ..read more

A paper prepared by the Chair of the CHF Board, Tony Lawson (Input also provided by Ms Jo Watson, Deputy Chair, CHF Board and Chair, Governance Committee) Most contemporary Boards irrespective of them being for profit or not for profit, ensure they have a sound succession plan. Those that do not run the risk of suffering a huge turnover of Directors resulting in loss of skills, expertise and corporate knowledge. In terms of succession planning, one of the major issues for Boards is looking at their own composition. Composition ought to be considered as a way of ensuring that there are a suffi ..read more

Dr Elizabeth Deveny CEO, Consumers Health Forum of Australia Dear Dr Deveny I write to you today to invite you to stay up to date with the work of the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Review Advisory Committee (MRAC). The MRAC was established as an independent, clinician and consumer led non-statutory committee, to aid the role of the MBS Continuous Review in providing continued assurance that the MBS will support improved health outcomes for all Australians. The MBS Continuous Review is committed to active engagement with the health sector and with consumers about decisions on how the MBS ca ..read more