CONFIRMED SPEAKERS AND FULL AGENDA
Value Fountain: “how do we measure (and value) what really matters”
Chair:
Dr Geoff Lester, Vascular Medicine and Perioperative Physician
Geoff is a physician, researcher, patient advocate and health economist passionate about platforming and prioritising patient experience within health system processes and policy. Geoff combines his medical training and studies on economic impacts of health conditions with his own extensive personal experience navigating health and hospital systems.
Featured technology showcases
Towards Predictive Genomics: Key Learnings for Australia
Alberto Domingo Bayarri – Spain, Global Strategic Partnerships and Policy, Thermo Fisher Scientific
Alberto Domingo heads Thermo Fisher Scientific’s strategy for Global Partnerships and Policy in Microarray Genotyping, focusing on the expansion of predictive genomics. With a background in public affairs, he has worked for a decade in different policy positions including in public institutions, patient advocacy, think tanks and government affairs consulting, specializing in health and research policy. Alberto’s work focuses on connecting stakeholder perspectives to advocate for positive policy change, with the aim of incorporating innovations in health care systems.
ABSTRACT: Advances in genomic technologies are reshaping healthcare by enabling a shift from reactive treatment to personalised prevention. This presentation will explore how genomic information—particularly polygenic risk derived from genome-wide association studies—can be integrated with traditional risk factors to better predict disease susceptibility and guide early intervention strategies. In addition, pharmacogenomics offers the ability to anticipate individual responses to therapies, supporting more precise and effective treatment decisions. Cost-effective, high-throughput technologies such as microarray genotyping now make population-scale risk profiling increasingly feasible.
Drawing on international experience, the session will highlight leading predictive genomics initiatives, including large-scale biobanking and cohort programs such as the Taiwan Precision Medicine Initiative and the Million Veterans Program. These examples demonstrate how genomic insights are being translated into preventative health strategies at scale.
Despite these advances, significant challenges remain in embedding predictive genomics into routine practice. While the technology is mature and evidence of utility is growing—particularly in areas such as cardiovascular disease and cancer—key gaps persist in cost-effectiveness data, equitable representation across diverse populations, and, most critically, enabling health policy frameworks. Integration with electronic health records, development of clinical protocols, and establishment of standardised testing and reporting pathways are essential next steps.
The presentation will conclude with recommendations for Australia to accelerate the adoption of predictive genomics. These include implementing risk-based screening programs, integrating genomic data into healthcare systems, expanding pre-emptive pharmacogenomic testing, and fostering national coordination across stakeholders. Harnessing predictive genomics offers a significant opportunity to enhance disease prevention and deliver more sustainable, personalised healthcare.
Primary Aldosteronism in Hypertension - diagnostics providing clarity and personalising therapeutic pathways
A/Prof Jun Yang, MBBS FRACP PhD
Head, Endocrine Hypertension Group, Hudson Institute of Medical Research
Chief Investigator, Primary Aldosteronism Centre of Research Excellence (PACE)
Senior Research Fellow, Department of Medicine, Monash University
Consultant Endocrinologist, Monash Health
A/Professor Jun Yang is the Head of the Endocrine Hypertension Group at Hudson Institute of Medical Research, a Consultant Endocrinologist at Monash Health, and a Senior Researcher in the Department of Medicine at Monash University, Victoria, Australia. Jun graduated from Monash University with a MBBS (Hon) in 2001, attained her FRACP in 2010, and completed a PhD in 2013 focusing on tissue-selective coregulators of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR). She has since advanced basic and clinical research in the field of MR-driven cardiovascular disease, particularly primary aldosteronism, contributing to 133 original publications. She established Victoria’s first Endocrine Hypertension Service, co-leads the Primary Aldosteronism Centre of Excellence, and enjoys fostering national and international collaborations to enhance the detection and management of primary aldosteronism for better patient outcomes.
Abstract: Hypertension is a significant healthcare burden being the key risk factor for the development of Cardiovascular disease. Primary Aldosteronism is a secondary cause of hypertension where individuals have a much higher risk of cardiovascular events. One in ten individuals with hypertension have PA. Specific treatments and cures are available when cases are identified lowering downstream risks such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic complications—all major drivers of long term healthcare expenditure.
The session will aim to explore both health economics and personal lived experience and the value of having a diagnosis versus living without one. The talk will examine how the diagnostics provides clarity and personalising therapeutic pathways and impacts on clinical outcomes that reduces both systemic and personal healthcare costs. Professor Yang brings a very unique and personal side to this topic as both of her parents have been diagnosed with Primary Aldosteronism.
Theme Overview
Australia’s health system continues to measure what’s easiest, often ignoring what matters most. We chase activity, volume, and cost reduction, but rarely measure the “value of knowing”: the clinical, economic, and human consequences of access to timely, accurate diagnostics. What’s more, we rarely address the far greater cost of not knowing.
The Value Fountain challenges us to rethink how value is defined, measured, and rewarded across the health system. It places diagnostics at the centre of value-based care, exploring how insight, instead of intervention, drives better outcomes for patients, health systems, and the economy.
This conversation goes beyond efficiency. It asks how we quantify the human, societal, and productivity benefits of innovation, and how Australia can evolve funding and policy models that recognise health as an investment, not an expense.
Intended Discussion Focus
- The Value of Knowing: Why knowledge in the form of early, accurate, actionable information, is the most undervalued currency in healthcare.
- The Cost of Not Knowing: Real-world examples where diagnostic delay or underuse leads to higher system costs, poorer patient outcomes, and lost productivity.
- Cost vs Outcome: How chasing the lowest unit cost distorts investment and concentrates access in large population centres, leaving equity and prevention behind.
- Quantifiable vs Human Impact: Balancing measurable system efficiencies with human and societal benefit drawing on stories that make “value” tangible.
- Activity vs Outcome: Moving from throughput metrics to patient-centred outcomes, and exploring funding frameworks that reward smarter testing, not more testing.
- The Value of Innovation: How new diagnostics and digital tools generate economic and productivity gains, and why policy must evolve to capture and reinvest that value.
Key Takeaways for Delegates
Insight: Understand why diagnostics must sit at the heart of value-based healthcare frameworks.
Evidence: Explore both quantifiable and human measures of value including health outcomes, avoided cost, and lived impact.
Action: Identify strategies to reframe health investment narratives for policymakers, funders, and investors.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Harry Iles-Mann, Digital Health Expert, Consumer Representative Advisor Department of Health
An experienced disability advocate, collaborative design and lived-experience engagement consultant, mental health ambassador, speaker, and health strategist. Pairing lived-experience and health sector expertise with a collaborative design approach to practicing partnerships, Harry supports organisations and people to translate lived-experience contributions into innovative, equitable, and impactful change in health care.
Juliana Iles-Mann, Program Director, Statewide Laboratory Information Systems, NSW Health Pathology
With extensive experience as a leader in the public health system, Juliana works to strengthen connectivity across healthcare providers to ensure pathology is embedded as an integral clinical service. Juliana has also navigated her son, Harry’s long-term engagement with the health system and will speak to her experience both as a healthcare professional and a mother.
PANEL SPEAKERS
“how do we measure (and value) what really matters?”
Dr Sophie Han, Director, Pathology Services, Diagnostic Imaging and Pathology Branch, Medicare Benefits and Digital Health Division Department of Health and Aged Care (DHAC)
Sophie works with the team providing policy advice on pathology services for the Medicare Benefits Scheme to deliver access to medical and health services for all Australians. She has provided leadership in initiatives within the department and across pathology services stakeholders including the Point of Care Working Group which was convened to inform and guide consideration for the use of public funding of PoCTs in health care in Australia.
Prof Erwin Loh, President of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators
Professor Erwin Loh is the current President of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, the specialty medical college for medical leaders, and Director of Medical Services at Peninsula Private Hospital. A recognised leader in health ethics, Prof Loh is a member of the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) of the NHMRC, and a member of the AHEC AI Working Group, holds adjunct professorships at University of Melbourne, Macquarie University and Monash University and is a member of the Association of Professional Futurists
A/Prof Bonny Parkinson, Associate Professor in Health Economics at Macquarie University
Interim Deputy Director at the Macquarie University Centre for the Health Economy, A/Prof Parkinson’s expertise is in the field of health economics, especially regarding pharmaceutical policy, economic evaluation methodology, cancer, hearing, and precision medicine. She currently co-leads the health technology assessment stream, and has been involved in over 70 evaluations of submissions to PBAC, MSAC and NDSS since 2009.
Emily Casey, Founder & Director, What the Health & Community & Partnerships Lead, Tenmile
Having started What the Health as a media company platforming health innovation news, Emily has since built an engaged readership and community over 10,000 strong – providing discussion, networking, and learning forums for health startups and big organisations alike. Her passion for adding value to the health innovation space is echoed in her role at TenMile, a health technology investment fund that partners with early-stage companies to target unmet needs in healthcare and develop the Australian health commercialisation ecosystem.
Innovation In Motion: “Universal vs Uniform healthcare – supporting a diverse population with a diversity of solutions”
Chair:
Dr Robert Grenfell, Chair West Vic Primary Health Network
Rob has specialist expertise in health system analysis, strategic planning, governance, health risk management, and equity-focused care. He is passionate about access to healthcare in rural communities and bringing innovative systems to improve equity in regional settings.
Featured technology showcase
Topic: Lighting the Way: How POC Haemolysis Detection Impacts Clinical Decision Making and Patient Outcomes
Speaker: Robert Hand
Robert Hand is a senior scientist in the Chemical Pathology department of Eastern Health Pathology where he works as the Point of Care Testing Coordinator and supervisor of complex chemistry. Before this, he worked as a medical scientist at Sonic Healthcare between 2011 and 2025
Overview: Haemolysis, the #1 source of preanalytical error, while prevalent throughout the hospital, is often unrecognised. This can negatively impact potassium (K+) results and patient care. Haemolysis occurs when the red blood cell membrane ruptures, causing Potassium (K+) to leak into the surrounding fluid. This leads to an elevation in K+ results. Haemolysis detection has not been available for whole blood potassium testing, causing inappropriate patient management, inefficient utilisation of staff/nursing time, negative impacts on patient satisfaction, and increased costs to the healthcare system. Unsuitable and/or delayed treatment pathways and longer length of stay underpin the impact of not having the early detection technology to predict, prevent, and personalise the required treatment for each patient entering the triage process. In this talk, we will explore how point-of-care Haemolysis Detection can positively impact patient outcomes through effective, informed and preventative clinical decision making.
Werfen’s GEM® Premier™ 7000 blood gas analyzer with iQM®3 offers the first automated, point-of-care (POC) whole-blood haemolysis detection, flagging haemolysed samples in 45 seconds. Using advanced IntraSpect™ technology, it provides real-time, preanalytical error detection (haemolysis, clots, bubbles) to improve accuracy of potassium results. A breakthrough in blood gas testing.
Theme Overview
The future of healthcare will depend on how effectively we can deliver the right test, to the right patient, at the right time. While central laboratories have a stronghold as the engine room of quality at scale, innovation now enables diagnostics to move closer to the patient: into clinics, communities, and even homes.
This session explores how technology can transform the patient journey. Can we create continuity across the system and meet people where they are? From point-of-care testing (POCT) and self-collection models to wearable diagnostics and consumer-driven health, innovation in motion is about re-engineering how, where, and by whom care is delivered.
Intended Discussion Focus
- Evolving the System: How decentralised models complement central labs by extending reach, improving timeliness, and reducing system bottlenecks.
- Continuity of Care: Meeting people where they are. Whether that be in rural and remote settings, primary care, or community-led programs. How can we ensure diagnostic access aligns with lived realities?
- Technology as an Enabler: How portable, digital, and connected diagnostics provide the lever for transition to a more flexible, responsive, and equitable healthcare system.
- Systemic Change: What structural and policy shifts are required to make these new models sustainable, safe, and integrated into mainstream care?
- Consumer-Driven Health: Exploring blurred lines between medical and lifestyle technologies including wearables, home monitoring, self-testing, and the implications for regulation, trust, and data.
Key Takeaways for Delegates
Clarity: Understand how decentralised diagnostics complement, rather than compete with, centralised systems.
Evidence: See real-world examples of innovation improving access and outcomes, particularly for underserved populations.
Action: Identify the policy, funding, and infrastructure enablers that will allow innovation to move from pilot to practice.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Adj Prof Anita Ghose, Founder and CEO inventiveX
A global & national thought leader on the future of health and digitisation of care, Adj Prof Ghose has a focus on digital health, human-centred design and well-being outcomes. Her extensive government, industry, and advisory experience has driven transformation across healthcare and human services.
PANEL SPEAKERS
“Universal vs Uniform healthcare – supporting a diverse population with a diversity of solutions”
Dr Michael Wright, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
A general practitioner (GP), health economist and health services researcher, Michael combines clinical practice with strategic appointments and academic research analysing the effects of health policy on the quality and performance of primary care. In addition to leading RACGP, Michael is Associate Professor at the UNSW International Centre for Future Health Systems and maintains his clinical practice
Dr Michael Page, CEO Clinipath Pathology
In addition to leading the SONIC laboratory in Western Australia, Michael is a senior lecturer at the UWA medical school and an examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia A chemical pathologist, Michael has an active clinical interest in lipid disorders, including familial hypercholesterolaemia). With a keen interest in the health of doctors, patients and the community, Michael is a former President of the Australian Medical Association (WA) and is passionate about elevating ways for pathology to add value to improve patient experience and empowerment.
Zoë Milgrom, Co-founder and Chief Clinical Officer, Eugene
A certified Genetic counsellor, Zoë spent over a decade working within the public and private health systems, before founding Eugene with a goal to increase genetic awareness and provide guidance and support, and testing that is relevant and ethical. Zoë is passionate about developing a new client centred model of healthcare that empowers individuals to make proactive and informed healthcare choices.
Dr Elizabeth Deveny, CEO Consumer Health Forum
Working at the intersection of policy, technology and lived experience, Elizabeth has a focus on how people actually access and use care. She has led major health system reforms across digital health and primary care, and is known for bringing a clear consumer lens to complex decisions about funding, pricing and design. Elizabeth is particularly interested in how innovation, including diagnostics and at-home testing, can improve access, without widening gaps in care.
Bob Partridge, Regional Laboratory Operations Manager, Pathology Queensland
Bob has extensive experience in the Management and Leadership of rural and remote Pathology Services and integration of rural and remote labs into a statewide coordinated service. Leading and managing the operations of the 22 Regional laboratories across Queensland, a land mass approximately eight times the size of Victoria and seven times the size of the UK. Bob is focussed on innovative and cost-effective patient focused solutions to bring timely and equitable health services, with a particular interest in improving the leadership competency for enabling change as a strategic capability to increase change capacity and responsiveness in organisations.
Predict. Prevent. Personalise
Matthew Britland, Co-founder and Director, Edge Medical Solutions
Experienced Medical Affairs Director with a demonstrated history of working in the pharmaceuticals industry and clinical roles. Skilled in Pharmaceutical Medicine, Oncology and Haematology . Strong professional with a MMedSc focused in Pharmaceutical Medicine from UNSW Australia. Currently working towards DrPH which focuses on the role of Medical Affairs in the Quality use of Medicine (QUM) and its impact on patient outcomes.
Featured technology showcase
Preventing the preventable - the role of a universal child and family genomic FH screening programme
Shubha Srinivasan, Co-Head of Department, Senior Staff Specialist, Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead; Clinical Associate Professor, University of Sydney
Clinical Associate Professor Shubha Srinivasan is a senior staff specialist in paediatric endocrinology. She is co-director of The Institute of Endocrinology and Diabetes, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and Clinical A/Professor at The University of Sydney. Shubha is a passionate advocate for paediatric familial hypercholesterolaemia services having established a dedicated multidisciplinary paediatric lipid clinic for The Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. Through this clinic she has developed a culture of multidisciplinary whole of life care, patient advocacy and education She is a firm believer that FH is the ultimate example of family-based care starting from birth and that lifelong healthy outcomes start with a healthy childhood.
Shubha is a board member on Australian National Familial Hypercholesterolaemia (FH) Registry and co-chairs the Australia-NZ Paediatric FH working group. She is a on the Professional Advisory Body for FH Australia which is the Voice and Support for individuals and families with FH. She co-authored the recent Australian guidance on the management of paediatric FH and participates in groundbreaking clinical trials which have enabled compassionate access to potentially life-saving medications for severe hypercholesterolaemia. Her current projects include working with government and department of health and FH Australia to increase awareness and screening for inherited high cholesterol and the use of health technology to enhance clinical service provision.
Abstract:
Coronary heart disease remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Australia. 1 in 250 Australians have familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH), a dominantly inherited disorder of cholesterol metabolism which starts from birth and results in a 20-fold increase in the risk of early onset coronary artery disease. Untreated, 50% of male and 20% of female patients with FH experience a fatal or non-fatal heart attack by age 50 years. Early detection and management from childhood can reduce morbidity and mortality, however 90% of adults with FH and 98% of children with FH in Australia remain undiagnosed.
An equitable universal genomic screening programme for all Australian children and families with FH will enable primary and preventative care pathways for those at high risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The scientific and economic data are clear, genomic and digital tools are available, a national coordinated approach is required.
Theme Overview
Australia’s healthcare system is reaching a breaking point—costs are escalating, chronic disease is increasing, and system inefficiencies are eroding sustainability. While incremental funding boosts have offered temporary relief, they have largely “kicked the can down the road.” What’s needed is genuine system change. Can we shift from reactive, sickness-based care to proactive, patient-centred health built on prediction, prevention, and personalization? PTA-C/26 invites speakers to explore how innovative diagnostics and enabling technologies (such as genomics, proteomics, point-of-care testing, AI and digital health) can underpin this transformation.
This session asks: What would it take for Australia to truly value prevention as an investment, not a cost?
Intended Discussion Focus
- Big Picture Health Challenges: Draw on experience and insights to frame Australia’s current health trajectory of rising chronic disease burden, workforce pressures, and widening inequities.
- System Sustainability: Why the current model is no longer fit for purpose, and the role pathology technology plays to help rebalance the system toward proactive health.
- Investment Mindset: Reframe healthcare as an economic enabler rather than a cost centre. Illustrate both the economic and personal stories. Paint the picture of how earlier diagnosis and targeted prevention deliver measurable returns to individuals, communities, and governments.
- Global Perspectives: Denmark and other high-performing systems have redirected investment toward primary and preventative care (e.g., 30% of health spend vs Australia’s 7.5%) with demonstrable innovation and improved outcomes. What can we learn from them?
- Technology as a Framework Enabler: Highlight how diagnostic and digital innovation fits into a prevention-first approach. Address the policy and funding gaps that currently undervalue and underutilise proven technology.
- Next-Generation Expectations: Explore how digital natives view and access healthcare. The trends towards demanding immediacy, transparency, and personalization. What does that mean for system design to be agile and adaptive to the fast pace of technology evolution?
Key Takeaways for Delegates
Clarity: Understand why Australia’s current trajectory is unsustainable and how prevention-driven investment can reverse it.
Evidence: Learn from international and domestic examples that quantify the benefits of proactive healthcare.
Action: Identify concrete policy, funding, and regulatory levers to accelerate adoption of predictive and preventative diagnostics.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Hans Erik Henriksen, Vice President for QUMEA, Denmark
Senior healthcare and health-technology leader with more than 30 years’ experience driving system-level change through digital innovation. As former CEO of Healthcare DENMARK, he played a central role in promoting and scaling Danish healthcare solutions internationally, supporting a national strategy that prioritised prevention, digital health, and home-based care. Across executive roles spanning primary care, hospitals, home-based chronic care and national public–private partnerships, Hans Erik brings practical insights into how technology, policy and investment can combine to deliver better outcomes for patients, clinicians and health systems.
PANEL SPEAKERS
“from ideas to action – where is it done well, what can we learn, and how do we scale?”
Tiffany Boughtwood, Australian Health Genomics Commissioner, leading Genomics Australia
Providing advice to Government based on broad engagement with the genomics sector and community. Tiffany has 30 years’ experience in molecular biology and management: leading academic and diagnostic genomic programs; collaborating internationally in genomic research; and consulting in health genomic implementation.
Dr Kean- Seng Lim, General Practitioner, Medical Advisor, Co-Founder and Innovator, Past President AMA (NSW)
Across 30+ years as a GP, Dr Lim has found innovative ways to meet evolving healthcare challenges and patient needs. Passionate about connecting information to meaningful outcomes Dr Lim is Chief Medical Advisor for health informatics company Pen CS, and co-founder of CareMonitor - allowing healthcare teams to deliver high-quality care where and when it’s needed.
Dr Steven Lu, General Practitioner, Co-founder & Chief Medical Officer of Everlab
With over 15 years of clinical experience spanning intensive care, cardiothoracic surgery, and general practice, Steven has built his career around a simple conviction: healthcare should prevent disease, not just respond to it. Through longitudinal data, advanced diagnostics, and doctor-led interpretation, Steven and his team are building the infrastructure for proactive care that anticipates health risks years before symptoms emerge.
Vanessa (Ness) Tyrrell, ZERO Childhood Cancer Program Director, Children’s Cancer Institute
Immediate Past President of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia (HGSA), Member of the NSW Health Genomics Strategy Translational Medicine Committee, among other positions, Ness has actively contributed to state and federal governments’ and professional bodies’ advisory committees, review, consultation, and development of policy, and the implementation of genomics and precision medicine in Australia.
Bridget Totterman, CEO Pharmaceuticals Society Australia
A registered pharmacist, director, business owner and established leader. Bridget is passionate about health care and the role we all play in optimising health outcomes. Drawing on a career spanning entrance level roles to the C-suite, Bridget brings an “all of business” skill set with excellent knowledge of financials, human resource management, risk management, relevant laws including health legislation, clinical governance and operations.
INNOVATORS FORUM
Sponsored by our commercial partners
The Innovator’s Forum will showcase the opportunities available to our healthcare system, highlighting the structural and environmental barriers limiting commercialisation and adoption, while providing targeted, actionable feedback to accelerate the innovator’s commercialisation journey.
Facilitated by Dr Robyn Lindner, Director - State and Committee Engagement, AusBiotech
This session is designed to provide practical feedback and advice to strengthen the innovator’s commercialisation journey and facilitate relevant networking opportunities.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FINALLISTS
Meet the innovators set to change the future of healthcare!
Dr Kieren Mulroney
Cytophenix is an emerging Perth-based medtech company developing FloCAST™: an AI-enhanced, single-cell resolution, rapid antimicrobial susceptibility testing platform. FloCAST™ can deliver full phenotypic AST results, direct from positive blood culture or isolate, in just four hours - days faster than existing standard of care. The platform is Australian-invented and patented, and preparing for full IVD regulatory validation.
Dr Clarissa Yates
Ketim Technologies is a Brisbane-based precision diagnostics company developing the world's first blood-based test to predict a mother's risk of postpartum depression before symptoms appear. Built on a proprietary protein biomarker signature (international patent filed) and a globally established diagnostics platform, Ketim is shifting perinatal mental health care from reactive treatment to proactive prevention — giving clinicians, mothers, and families the chance to intervene early and improve outcomes for both mother and child.
Stefan Mazy
Skin cancer assessment is a major pressure point for patients and the healthcare system, with more than 60% of skin cancer biopsies returning benign results. DermR Health is developing a biopsy-sparing molecular decision layer for clinically uncertain skin lesions, combining point-of-care skin microsampling with a proprietary molecular test run in pathology laboratories. DermR's approach is designed to extend pathology’s role earlier in the diagnostic pathway, supporting more informed triage, reducing avoidable benign biopsies, and easing pressure across primary care, dermatology and diagnostic services while keeping pathology central to skin cancer diagnosis.
Dr Jaysen Knezovich
Sequins is an Australian genomics company commercialising a patented class of synthetic spike-in reference controls for next-generation sequencing. Sequins are engineered to mirror natural genomic sequences while remaining analytically distinguishable from native sample reads, allowing them to move through sequencing workflows like real biological targets while providing an internal, sample-level reference for quality control, quantification and performance monitoring. Although currently supplied for research use only, Sequins technology is highly relevant to genomic pathology laboratories developing, validating and accrediting complex sequencing workflows, supporting stronger evidence for assay performance, reproducibility, limit-of-detection assessment and cross-site comparability. Published clinical assay development studies have used Sequins and related spike-in controls to support assay optimisation and validation, including work demonstrating increased diagnostic yield, highlighting their potential role in strengthening the performance and clinical utility of genomic testing.
MEET THE PANELLISTS
Dr Michael Page, BPharm MBBS(Hons) PhD MAACB FRCPA, CEO Clinipath Pathology
Senior Lecturer at the UWA Medical School, an Examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, and head of the Western Australia laboratories for Sonic Healthcare – one of the world’s leading private pathology providers. With a keen interest in the health of doctors, patients and the community, Michael is also a former President of the Australian Medical Association (WA).
Dr Amandeep Hansra, Digital Health Advisor Australian Digital Health Agency & Co-Founder Australian Medical Angels
Fellow of the RACGP, Australian Digital Health Institute and Co-founder of Australian Medical Angels. Amandeep is a leader in digital health and health innovation. A GP with 18 years clinical experience she is known for her work as a digital health consultant, entrepreneur, and investor.
Keiran Pickles, General manager Werfen
Experienced Sales, Marketing and Commercial leader, Kieran heads up the Oceania division of Werfen, an innovative, family-owned, global health technology company specialising in diagnostics across Hemostasis, Acute Care Diagnostics, Transfusion, Autoimmunity, and Transplant. Keiran offers direct commercial and market entry expertise for the Australian public and private pathology sectors.
Jennifer Barnes, Director, Commercialisation and Research Translation, Director, Burnet Diagnostics Initiative
Senior leader with extensive experience in medical and health technology commercialisation, known for shaping strategy, driving operational excellence, and leading high-performing teams to deliver sustained business growth.
VIP FIRESIDE CHAT
Dr. Patricia M. Davidson RN PhD Co-Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems
Dr. Patricia Davidson is a Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellow at the University of New South Wales Sydney. She previously served as Vice Chancellor and President of the University of Wollongong and is currently the Co-Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems. Her previous academic leadership positions include Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. Current leadership roles, include Chair of the NSW International Education Advisory Board, Chair of Her Heart and membership on the Research Australia board.
Harry Iles-Mann, Digital Health Expert, Consumer Representative Advisor Department of Health
An experienced disability advocate, collaborative design and lived-experience engagement consultant, mental health ambassador, speaker, and health strategist. Pairing lived-experience and health sector expertise with a collaborative design approach to practicing partnerships, Harry supports organisations and people to translate lived-experience contributions into innovative, equitable, and impactful change in health care.
Hans Erik Henriksen, Vice President for QUMEA, Denmark
Senior healthcare and health-technology leader with more than 30 years’ experience driving system-level change through digital innovation. As former CEO of Healthcare DENMARK, he played a central role in promoting and scaling Danish healthcare solutions internationally, supporting a national strategy that prioritised prevention, digital health, and home-based care. Across executive roles spanning primary care, hospitals, home-based chronic care and national public–private partnerships, Hans Erik brings practical insights into how technology, policy and investment can combine to deliver better outcomes for patients, clinicians and health systems.
Dr Michael Page, CEO Clinipath Pathology
In addition to leading the SONIC laboratory in Western Australia, Michael is a senior lecturer at the UWA medical school and an examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia A chemical pathologist, Michael has an active clinical interest in lipid disorders, including familial hypercholesterolaemia). With a keen interest in the health of doctors, patients and the community, Michael is a former President of the Australian Medical Association (WA) and is passionate about elevating ways for pathology to add value to improve patient experience and empowerment.
Dr Robert Grenfell, Chair West Vic Primary Health Network
Rob has specialist expertise in health system analysis, strategic planning, governance, health risk management, and equity-focused care. He is passionate about access to healthcare in rural communities and bringing innovative systems to improve equity in regional settings.
WORKSHOPS
The Value Fountain – Three Concurrent Workshops
WORKSHOP 1: Real World Evidence – What is the True Value of Knowing?
Facilitator: Deidre Mackechnie – Executive Officer Australian Patient Advocacy Alliance
Discussion Questions:
Q1: What does “value of knowing” mean to different stakeholders?
Q2: What are the consequences of NOT knowing?
Workshop Output: “Real-world evidence recommendations: To capture the true value of knowing, health technology assessment must include [X, Y, Z] measures beyond traditional cost-effectiveness.”
WORKSHOP 2: Measuring What Matters – Impacts on Decision Making
Facilitator: A/Prof Colman Taylor – Chief Vision Officer HTANALYSTS
Q1: What value does diagnostics bring to health from ALL perspectives?
Q2: Does the current system measure and value these priorities?
Q3: What are the gaps and how could they be closed?
Workshop Output: “To measure what matters, we recommend: (1) [Specific metric], measured via [method]; (2) [Specific metric], measured via [method]; (3) [Specific metric], measured via [method]. Implementation requires [resources/partnerships/policy changes].”
WORKSHOP 3: Measuring What Matters – Impacts on Decision Making
Facilitator: Joshua O Aderinto – Head of Medical Communications London Agency
Q1: Are there examples where ‘value of knowing’ is embedded in healthcare systems?
Q2: What are the characteristics of fit-for-purpose framework?
Q3: What can government do to progress this challenge?
Workshop Output: “Fit-for-purpose policy framework recommendations: (1) [Specific reform]; (2) [Specific reform]; (3) [Specific reform]. To make this urgent and proximal, we recommend [advocacy strategy/evidence needed/coalition building approach].”
Innovation In Motion – Three Concurrent Workshops
WORKSHOP 4: How Do You Scale from Successful Pilot to Mainstream?
Facilitator: Rob Grenfell – Chair West Vic Primary Health Network
Q1: Are there examples of successful pilots that have scaled to fully funded standard of care?
Q2: What are the lessons we can learn from these examples?
Q3: Technology - When Does It Help vs Create More Work?
Workshop Output: “To scale diagnostic innovation from pilot to mainstream, we recommend: (1) [Specific action with responsible party]; (2) [Specific action with responsible party]; (3) [Specific action with responsible party]. Timeline: [Realistic milestones].”
WORKSHOP 5: Scope of Practice – Driving Value at Every Touchpoint
Facilitator: Madeline O’Donoghue – Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, PTA
Q1: What problems are we trying to solve through expanded scope of practice?
Q2: Which technology levers do we have available?
Q3: Which touchpoints would benefit from increased technology access/decision-making related to pathology testing?
Q4: Identify Barriers/Risks to expanded scope of practice/access
Workshop Output: “To drive value at every touchpoint through expanded scope of practice, we recommend: (1) [Priority expansion with enablers needed]; (2) [Priority expansion with enablers needed]. Key barriers to address: [Top 2-3]. Responsible parties: [Who needs to act].”
WORKSHOP 6: How Do We Get the Right Test to the Right Patient at the Right Time?
Facilitator: Dean Whiting – CEO, PTA
Q1: Should we be creating a patient-centred diagnostics service?
Q2: What are the characteristics of a patient-centred diagnostic service?
Q3: What does “good enough” look like?
Q4: What would it take to build this?
Workshop Output: “A patient-centred diagnostic service must: (1) [Characteristic]; (2) [Characteristic]; (3) [Characteristic]. To achieve this, we need: [Top 3 enablers]. First step: [Specific action].”
Predict. Prevent. Personalise. – Three Concurrent Workshops
WORKSHOP 7: Learning from Best Practice (Local and Global) - System-Level Change
Facilitator: Katie Ellis– Senior Manager Medical Affairs, Illumina
Q1: Where do we see best practice in prediction and prevention?
Q2: What are the barriers to adopting a similar approach here?
Q3: What are the top recommendations to Develop?
Consensus Building: - What are the top 3 recommendations for systemic change? - What’s the 1-year roadmap? - Who needs to champion each action?
Workshop Output: “To achieve system-level change toward prediction and prevention, we recommend: (1) [Specific action with timeline]; (2) [Specific action with timeline]; (3) [Specific action with timeline]. Key lessons from best practice: [Summary]. Path forward: [Roadmap].”
WORKSHOP 8: Wellness vs Healthcare - When to Start the Diagnostic Journey
Facilitator: Prof Charlotte Hespe– Head of General Practice, Sydney School of Medicine UNDA and Specialist Clinical General Practitioner
Q1: Where is the tipping point between status quo and intelligent adoption of beneficial technological advancement?
Q2: What is the role of consumer/patient in their healthcare?
Q3: What role should government, payers, and pathology services play?
Consensus Building: - When should the diagnostic journey begin? - What’s the right balance between universal care and user pays? - What’s the role of government, payers, services in wellness testing? - How do we enable consumer empowerment while ensuring quality and safety? - Where do genomics and precision medicine fit?
Workshop Output: “The diagnostic journey should begin with [approach]. To balance universal care and innovation access, we recommend [model]. Government/payers/services should [roles]. Genomics should be integrated through [pathway]. Path forward: [Specific actions to create framework].”
WORKSHOP 9: Critical Success Factors - What Does Good Look Like?
Facilitator: Matthew Britland, Co-founder and Director, Edge Medical Solutions
Q1: How can we turn ideals into data and policy?
Q2: What are the critical success factors?
Q3: What does success look like [framed from different stakeholder perspectives]?
Consensus Building: - What does “good” look like in 2035? - What are the important metrics? - What are the critical success factors?
Workshop Output: “By 2035, success looks like: [Vision with metrics]. New metrics: [Specific measures]. Critical success factors: [Top 3-5].
BREAKFAST SESSION WEDNESDAY 27th 7:50 – 8:45 – DRAWING ROOM 2
The Private Elevator: How IVD companies can expand their influence to win more deals
Most IVD companies have a strong elevator pitch. The problem is the people who decide whether you win or lose deals never step into that elevator. This practical session, led by John Emmerson and Joshua Aderinto, shows how to reach and influence the decision-makers who actually control outcomes. London Agency is a Melbourne-based healthcare communications and public affairs firm, working with medtech, diagnostics and pharma companies to influence adoption, funding and awareness in complex health systems. Drawing on real pathology work and engagement with health system leadership, you’ll learn how to leverage advocates, storytelling and local insight to expand your influence and win more deals.
LUNCH SESSION WEDNESDAY 27th 12:45-13:35 – BALLROOM
Future-Proofing Healthcare: Your Role in Antimicrobial and Diagnostic Stewardship Across Australia
Dr François Lamoury, MSc (Biotech), MBA, is a Technical Support Manager for ANZ Customer Care at Cepheid (Danaher)
François has over 30 years’ experience in clinical research, molecular diagnostics, and infectious diseases. He is a published author with 30+ peer reviewed publications and has held senior roles across academia, global health organisations, and industry, including the Kirby Institute (UNSW) and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND). François has led international diagnostic accuracy studies, supported WHO prequalification and CE IVD submissions, and delivered global training on quality management systems. His current work focuses on diagnostic quality, troubleshooting, and laboratory support to strengthen infection prevention and control and HAI related workflows.
Overview: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains a growing and urgent threat to public health, driven largely by the high level and inappropriate use of antimicrobials across healthcare settings. Increasing resistance among key bacterial pathogens is complicating treatment decisions, prolonging illness, and placing pressure on already stretched healthcare services. Antimicrobial Stewardship Programmes (ASPs) play a critical role in promoting the responsible use of antibiotics, improving patient outcomes while preserving the effectiveness of existing therapies. Beyond clinical impact, AMR carries significant economic consequences, contributing to higher healthcare costs through longer hospital stays, additional diagnostics, and more complex treatments. Addressing AMR in Australia requires coordinated action across clinicians, laboratories, policymakers, and industry to support stewardship, surveillance, and education efforts that safeguard antimicrobials for future generations.
LUNCH SESSION THURSDAY 28th 12:30-13:25 – TBD
The Value of Knowing: How Digital Health Enables Better Decisions
Speaker: Cassandra Solari, Head of Digital Health and Integrated Solutions. Roche Diagnostics Australia
Overview
The transition to proactive, personalised care isn't just a trend—it has become a systemic necessity.
For decades, diagnostics have been the silent backbone of medicine, yet the system remains largely reactive. The traditional model—centralised, reactive, and siloed—is no longer viable in an era defined by fiscal pressure and the demand for value-based care. Predictive and personalised care is no longer a luxury; it is the new benchmark for operational efficiency and market relevance.
To bridge the gap between data and delivery, the industry must evolve from being a mere supplier to becoming a core architectural partner in digital health.
