Behind every federal decision to fund a health service or technology is a complex body of evidence, reviewed by the Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC), an independent committee. Biotext turns MSAC’s highly technical discussions into clear, accurate summaries – giving the Health Minister the insight needed to make informed decisions, and helping the public understand the outcomes.
We attend in-person meetings of MSAC and its subcommittee, the Evaluation Subcommittee (ESC), capturing detailed discussions about the safety, clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health services and technologies. Working to tight deadlines, we transform this record into concise, accessible summaries tailored to the needs of MSAC, the minister and consumers. By clarifying technical concepts and cutting through jargon, we make complex evidence easier to understand.
Our role
- Technical writing and synthesis
- Summaries
- Work with subject matter experts
- Copyediting and proofreading
Our solution
During the meetings, we take detailed, accurate notes that capture the key issues, evidence and reasoning needed for the public summary document. Our notes are meticulous and dependable, as they are the only record from the meetings, which are not recorded.
We then shape our detailed notes into a coherent narrative that captures the committee’s reasoning clearly and accurately for a public audience. For MSAC, we also prepare a plain-language consumer summary explaining the health technology or service, the condition it is designed to address and the rationale behind MSAC’s advice.
The work brings us into the heart of expert discussions and gives us a meaningful role in making health funding decisions more transparent, to support access to effective health technologies and services.
Outcomes
- Reports that form sections of the public summary documents