M-VAC provides a comprehensive stream of research, advisory and assessment services to underpin value-based health care policies, agendas, and reforms.
About Us
The Centre for Health Policy is the coordinating home to M-VAC, established in 2021 and contracted to conduct value-based assessments and evaluations of pharmaceuticals, health services and technologies, preventive and curative programs, and digital health applications.
The Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne Health Economics, Cancer Health Services Research Unit and Evaluation and Implementation Science collaborate to focus on evidence to inform better policy and practice.
Activities include:
- Supporting decisions about the listing of new medical devices and pharmaceuticals for State Governments, Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC), Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) (Read more)
- Post-market Review (e.g., MBS Review)
- Prosthesis List Reform
- HTA rapid reviews
- Development-focused HTA: Early lifecycle advice, guidance, and value proposition development for early-stage innovations, including technologies, services, system reforms, and digital health applications (e.g., via the Validitron)
- National screening programs
- Payment system reforms
Our People
- Professor Kim Dalziel (Leadership team)
- Professor Adam Elshaug (Leadership team)
- Associate Professor Natalie Carvalho (Leadership team)
- Dr Michelle Tew (Leadership Team)
- Dr Allison Wyndham (Leadership Team)
- Dr Joseph Carrello ( Leadership Team)
- Dr Angela Devine
- Dr Christine Mpundu-Kaambwa
- Dr Tori Oliver
- Carolina Cortes Poblete
- Mackenzie Bourke
- Patrick Abraham
- Yingying (Cyan) Wang
- Alina Rana
M-VAC is a leading evaluation collaborative supported backed by a highly experienced and integrated leadership team. The team includes Professor Kim Dalziel, Head of Health Economics Unit; Professor Adam Elshaug, Director of Centre for Health Policy; Associate Professor Chris Schilling, Co-Unit Head of the Health Economics and Simulation Modelling for Chronic Disease Unit and MSAC Group Leader; Associate Professor Natalie Carvalho, Head of the Economics of Global Health and Infectious Diseases Unit; and Dr Michelle Tew, PBAC Group Leader.
The Collaboration is supported by a Scientific Expert Panel comprising of clinical trial, epidemiology, biostatistics and research methodology experts from the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, vaccine and infectious disease modelling and evaluation, and clinical evaluation, health economics and economic modelling experts from the Methods and Implementation Support for Clinical and Health Research Hub (MISCH) and Centre for Health Policy. The team is also supported by Clinical Expert Panel Members.
The organisational structure of M-VAC is shown in the figure below, noting this configuration of experts relates to its support of PBAC assessments.
