Australia calls for single assessment body grow:

Frustrated by the absence of a central system to assess new medical technologies, the government of South Australia has decided to act unilaterally. It has put in place its own sub-committee to assess and regulate new medical technologies and procedures. Its move bears out and supports calls by the industry that there is a need for a single national cost-assessment body (see Clinica No 1148, p 11). The state government's views emerged in its submissions to the productivity commission's study of medtech expenditure in Australia. It says that once a product has gained the approval of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and is made available in the private system, the assumption is that it will be made available through the public healthcare system, but with no regard to costs to the system.