Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Griff for the question and for advance notice of it. Minister Hunt is supportive of work to increase the transparency of outcomes for patients. On 2 January this year, he announced the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Out-of-Pocket Costs, chaired by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy. The committee is investigating out-of-pocket costs and options to ensure that consumers are better informed of fees before agreeing to treatment. The committee has held two meetings: on 8 February and 23 March this year. The committee is due to provide a report to the minister at the end of 2018. Communiques are released shortly after each meeting.

Currently, individual fertility clinics capture data on the outcomes of assisted reproductive technology treatment procedures. This data is collected and analysed by the Australia and New Zealand Assisted Reproduction Database, which is funded by the Fertility Society of Australia. Neither the public nor the Department of Health has direct access to this database. The IVF Directors Group has offered to work with the department, once they are satisfied with agreed data parameters, to introduce an improved database to collect assisted reproductive technology data that would be reconcilable with NBS data. Improved access to data may better inform clinical practice and better inform patients of their individual likely success rate.