Health technologies
Health technology is a broad term meaning something that is intended to do any of the following:
- prevent, diagnose or treat medical conditions
- promote health
- provide rehabilitation
- organise delivery of health care.
Health technologies include:
- tests
- medical devices
- medicines
- vaccines
- blood products
- procedures
- programs or systems involved in health care.
We use health technology assessments to decide which technologies can be sold in Australia and which ones qualify for Australian Government subsidy.
Digital health
Digital health refers to using technology to improve the healthcare system for providers and patients alike. This includes:
- telehealth
- electronic health records
- electronic prescriptions
- healthcare identifiers
- electronic referrals
- electronic medication charts
- access to trusted data.
The Australian Digital Health Agency has information on digital health for the public and for healthcare providers. See its video What is digital health?
Benefits
Australians benefit from new health technologies and advancements in digital health as they:
- improve quality of life and patient outcomes
- support Australians to stay as well as possible
- make the healthcare system more efficient.
Emerging health technologies and research
Medical research plays a large part in the development and improvement of health technologies.
We administer the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), an ongoing research fund set up by the Australian Government in 2015. The MRFF is already supporting many research initiatives.
Researchers can apply for funding opportunities every year.
Read more about what we’re doing about health technologies and digital health.