The Federal Government has announced the appointment of a group of eminent health care professionals who will be responsible for guiding the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s (TGA) reform process.

 

Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, announced the membership of the Australian Therapeutic Goods Advisory Council (ATGAC), which will be chaired by Australia’s Chief Medical Office, Professor Chris Baggoley.

 

“Over the next three years, the Council will give advice to the TGA on communication with the community and stakeholders, new management initiatives, and monitoring the TGA’s progress against its broader reform agenda,” Ms King said.

 

“The new Council members bring expertise in areas as diverse as clinical practice, research, industry experience, business management, health consumer issues and public administration.

"The establishment of this Council is just one of the planned reforms agreed to in the report TGA reforms: A blueprint for TGA’s future, which places emphasis on the TGA operating in a more transparent and open environment,” Ms King said.

The TGA has a three-phase plan that details how and when the agreed reforms will be implemented and as part of this process the TGA will report on the progress of its reforms to the Council every six months. 

The first meeting of the Council will be on 22 November 2012.

 

The members are:

  • Dr John Aloizos - General Practitioner
  • Ms Lynelle Briggs - Commonwealth Association of Public Administrators and Managers Board member
  • Ms Karen Carey - Health Consumer Advocate
  • Mr Will DeLaat - Prescription Medicines
  • Prof. Stephen Graves - Orthopaedic surgeon 
  • Prof. Claire Jackson - Professor in General Practice & Primary Health Care
  • Prof. Michael Kidd - Executive Dean of Health Sciences 
  • Prof. Andrew McLachlan - Professor of Pharmacy
  • Ms Debbie Rigby - Consultant Clinical Pharmacist
  • Emeritus Prof. Lloyd Sansom - Emeritus Professor in Pharmacy and Medical Sciences
  • Ms Juliet Seifert - OTC and complementary medicines/Quality use of medicines
  • Ms Anne Trimmer - Medical Devices
  • Prof. John Wakerman - Public Health Medicine Specialist and General Practitioner
  • Dr Janet Wale - Pharmacologist