In this Patti’s People episode, Patti Peeples of the The Peeples Collaborative speaks with Paul Scuffham, Founder, Centre for Applied Health Economics.
Questions:
00:00: Introduction
01:24: What do you see as the real purpose of health economics today?
05:17: Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Strategy is being revisited for the first time in a decade. What is the significance of reassessing R&D spending now, and how could it reshape priorities across hospitals, universities, and health-service research?
09:06: Australia’s PBAC is known globally for rigor and transparency. What does PBAC consistently get right – and where could it improve?
12:48: It can take nearly three years from FDA approval to PBAC listing. Where could the system meaningfully shorten that pathway without weakening the evidence?
19:41: More than 300 oncology drugs were approved globally in five years, yet few reached Australia. Are sponsors more deterred by pricing expectations or by process complexity?
22:48: What does smart, ethical engagement between academia and industry look like in 2025?
25:16: Many universities push for impact yet primarily reward publications. How can institutions better recognize and value policy-relevant or commercial translation work?
29:37: ISPOR’s 2030 Vision calls for bridging evidence and equitable access. What is the single biggest shift needed to achieve that?
32:21: Amid geopolitical and economic pressures, how do you see global pricing and value frameworks evolving – and what might this mean for patient access?
34:01: Healthcare spending is outpacing GDP worldwide. Is sustainability fundamentally an economic problem or a political one?
36:30: If Australia could share HTA workload with one other agency, who would it be, and why?
37:52: You’ve mentored a generation of health economists. What advice would you give your younger self, or emerging economists hoping to influence policy today?
40:56: Rapid Fire Questions
Paul Scuffham
Founder, Centre for Applied Health Economics
Chair of Health Economics, School of Medicine & Dentistry, Griffith University
Professor Scuffham’s research is focused on identifying the value for money of healthcare interventions, elicitation of preferences from patients and the public, and methods of priority setting. He applies his research interests across the breadth of cardiac conditions, genomics, digital health, vaccines and more. At Griffith University, Queensland Australia, he founded the Centre for Applied Health Economics and was Director of the former Menzies Health Institute Queensland, a large research institute with 13 centers and over 500 staff. In his professional society, he was the inaugural President of the Australian Chapter of ISPOR, and past Chair of the Asia Consortium. He was awarded ISPOR’s Marilyn Dix-Smith Leadership Award in 2025. He is a Fellow, Board member, and Chair of the Policy Advisory Committee of the Australian Academy of Health & Medical Sciences. He is a member of the Research Committee of the National Health and Medical Research Committee and a member of the Public Health and Health Systems Committee of the Medical Research Future Fund & NHMRC.
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