Health Research at Medibank: Australia’s world-renowned medical researchers continue to deliver results despite pandemic
Health Research at Medibank report
2020 has been a challenging year for our healthcare and medical research industries, and we are grateful for the enormous contribution they have made to keeping Australians safe and well.
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted traditional healthcare delivery this year. While it has also interrupted some important research projects, the pandemic has given Australian medical researchers the opportunity to demonstrate their world-renowned agility, teamwork and incredible scientific knowledge.
The Medibank Better Health Foundation is committed to better health outcomes for all Australians and we fund research into key areas of need for our customers and the broader Australian community.
In 2020, we focused our research efforts on some of the health issues that have affected our customers most this year, including the impact of COVID-19, osteoarthritis and mental health. We’ve invested $1.2 million into 17 projects, with more than 30 active projects receiving direct or indirect support.
The Health Research at Medibank report highlights the world-class researchers whose work improves the quality of life and health outcomes for Australians every day. This year, highlights include:
Partnering with the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, the University of Melbourne, Austin Health and the Alfred Hospital to ensure COVID-19 screenings and temperature checks for incoming patients were correctly captured in patient records, giving greater confidence to hospital workers and decreasing their exposure risk to COVID-19.
Collaborating with the Australian National University, the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, and public and private hospitals across the country to demonstrate that when community prevalence of COVID-19 is low in Australia, the associated risks to healthcare workers from asymptomatic elective surgery patients are very low.
Supporting a University of Sydney trial, PARTNER, to give GPs better access to up-to-date osteoarthritis treatment information and providing telehealth support to patients to help improve their knee pain and function.
Funding work by the Menzies Institute of Medical Research at the University of Tasmania to see if better health outcomes can be achieved for Australians with knee osteoarthritis through simple, cost-effective physical exercise rather than invasive and sometimes debilitating surgery.
This has been a challenging year for clinicians and researchers, and we are proud to support their ongoing commitment to continue to improve Australia’s excellent healthcare system. We hope you enjoy reading more about the research the Medibank Better Health Foundation has funded this year.
