The Morrison Government has announced it is investing $12.9 million in seven new research projects around Australia to use data to improve health outcomes for Australian patients.
Reportedly funded through the 2020 Primary Healthcare Research Data Infrastructure grants, a number of research institutions will receive funding to undertake projects that use new and existing data sets to improve access, quality, safety and efficiency of our primary healthcare system.
It’s said that as part of the program, the South Australian Health Medical Research Institute Ltd will receive around $2 million for its Registry of Senior Australians (ROSA) project, which aims to expand the existing platform to understand emerging issues and continue ground-breaking research on key, and currently unknown, residential aged care impacts.
ROSA’s efficient model is said to leverage existing information, bringing together diverse datasets collected by different organisations throughout the country, to provide a whole picture of the ageing pathway.
According to a statement released by the office of the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, the research is expected to use the new data gathered on immunisation, rehabilitation and social welfare to further research and embed ROSA as the only national data solution for policy and practice change in residential aged care.
The University of Adelaide will also reportedly receive around $2 million for their Imagendo project, which will benefit the approximately one in nine Australian women and girls who suffer from endometriosis.
It’s said the Imagendo project will use imaging and artificial intelligence to aid in better, quicker, and more cost-effective diagnosis of endometriosis. Ultrasound and MRI imaging will be used to develop diagnostic algorithms, which can estimate in real time the likelihood that an individual has endometriosis.
This tool is expected to improve access to simpler and less invasive diagnostic tests and treatments for Australian women and girls impacted by endometriosis.
The Primary Healthcare Research Data Infrastructure grants are said to be targeted towards projects, which will improve residential aged care, urban and rural general practitioner-led practices, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations and other health professionals such as nurses, midwives, allied health, pharmacists and dentists.
These grants are part of the Morrison Government’s $20 billion Medical Research Future, which is a long-term, sustainable investment in Australian health and medical research helping to improve lives, build the economy and contribute to the sustainability of the health system.
Further information about the MRFF is available at health.gov.au/mrff.
