It’s been another busy year for Know Pathology Know Healthcare. Two events at Parliament House, 21 lab visits, 12 newsletters, 30 news stories – and we hit 20,000 supporters on the Know Pathology Know Healthcare website! Read on to find out more about some of our proudest moments of 2017, and what you can expect in the New Year!
Educating our country’s leaders
This year we ramped up our efforts to ensure that our country’s leaders understand the immense value of pathology to Australian healthcare. We took 21 Federal Members and Senators behind the scenes to visit their local pathology lab. Thanks to our initiative a total of 73 parliamentarians have now seen first-hand the life-saving work happening in labs all over the country.
We also hosted two events at Parliament House in Canberra. In March, we partnered up with Diabetes Australia to give over 80 parliamentarians HbA1c tests and to educate them on the role of pathology in prevention, diagnosis and treatment for Australia’s biggest health burden. Then in September we did it all again with the Prostate Cancer Foundation, testing over 90 politicians’ prostate cancer risk.
Look mum, we’re on TV!
If you haven’t seen our animated TV advert, firstly where have you been hiding? But secondly check it out here. The ad has been aired over 2,500 times across the country on Channels 7, One, 10 and Foxtel. That’s a lot of viewers who may not have ever given pathology much of a thought before, and who may now have a better idea of the value of all that work happening behind the scenes. Yay!
Reaching patients when it matters most
Since the start of the year we’ve been working with GP practices to further increase health literacy around pathology tests. One in every two GP visits involve a pathology referral or result but one in five referrals are never completed. And we want to help with that.
Over 100 GP clinics across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland have been trialing adding the Know Pathology Know Healthcare website URL to their request forms so that GPs can encourage their patients to read reliable, accurate information about the pathology tests they’re being referred for.
We’re working on expanding the initiative so make sure to keep your eye out next time you’re at the GP in the New Year!
Spreading the word
We want every person in Australia to understand the incredible value our world class pathology services give to our healthcare system. 1 in 2 Australians had a pathology test in 2017 – and will do again in 2018 – so it seems right they get to hear all about the amazing work happening behind the scenes. That’s why we provided news stories to over 30 websites, newspapers, radio stations and TV channels.
From our ambassador, Dr Melody Caramins, speaking on ABC News 24 about the addition of BRCA gene testing to the MBS for women with recurring ovarian cancer, to local stories about the hard-working individuals in regional labs and explainers on things such as what tests to expect when you’re pregnant, our news stories reached a total audience of over 2 million Australians.
And with that, we’d like to say thank you to everyone for your ongoing support of Australian pathology – and an especially big thank you to everyone who will be working in labs over the festive season to keep us all healthy and safe.
See you in 2018!
